University  of  California. 


TAXATION 


VJ 

TAXATION: 

ITS  LEVY  AND  EXPEE"DITI7EE, 

FUTURE; 


BEING 


AN  ENQUIRY  INTO  OUR  FINANCIAL  POLICY. 


BY 


SIR  S.  MORTON  PETO,  BAET. 

M.  P.  FOE  MNSBUBY. 

1863. 


V.   APPLETON   &  CO.,  PUBLISHERS, 
Nos.  443  AND  445  BROADWAY. 

1866. 


CONTENTS. 


SECTION  I. 
TAXATION:    ITS  LEVY. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Page 
SURVEY  OF  THE  SUBJECT          .         .  1 


CHAPTER  II. 
CUSTOMS'  DUTIES          ....  13 


CHAPTER  III. 


PROPERTY  AND  INCOME  TAX   . 


.       41 


CHAPTER  IV. 
THE  POST  OFFICE 61 

CHAPTER  V. 
EXISE  DUTIES 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Tagt, 

THE  ASSESSED  TAXES     .  ....  Ill 

CHAPTER  VII. 

STAMP  DUTIES      .  •  118 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
CROWN  LANDS         .  .  .  123 

CHAPTER  IX. 

COLLECTION  OF  THE  REVENUE 128 


CONTENTS. 


SECTION  II. 
TAXATION:    ITS  EXPENDITURE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

»    Paff* 
GROSS  EXPENDITURE 145 


CHAPTER  II. 
THE  ARMY      ........  149 

CHAPTER  III. 
THE  NAVY  .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         173 

CHAPTER  IV. 
MISCELLANEOUS  EXPENDITURE 189 

CHAPTER  V. 
THE  NATIONAL  DEBT  .......         222 

CHAPTER  VI. 
THE  CIVIL  LIST 228 

CHAPTER  VII. 

GENERAL  REFLECTIONS 235 

INDEX      ....  245 


SECTION  I. 


TAXATION: 


ITS    LEVY. 


CHAPTEK  I. 


SURVEY    OF    THE    SUBJECT. 


THE  levy  and  expenditure  of  the  taxation  of  the  nation  CHAP.  I. 
involve  considerations  affecting  every  subject  of  the  British  TAXATION. 
crown.     To  consider  our  financial  position  at  present,  with  a 
view  to  any  improvements  in  future,  it  is  necessary  to  review 
the  past.     The  subject  is  one  involving  elements  of  gre'at     import- 
importance,  and  it  cannot  be  approached  without  solicitude.  Question. 

At  the  very  outset  we  find  food  for  reflection  and  investi- 
gation. What  is  the  cause  of  the  chronic  dissatisfaction 
which  prevails  in  this  kingdom  on  the  subject  of  Finance? 
Why  are  the  people  continually  engaged  in  a  struggle  against 
the  pressure  of  taxation  ?  Why  are  Ministries  in  perpetual 
jeopardy  in  discussions  on  the  Budget  ?  Are  the  principles 
of  our  taxation  sound  or  imperfect  \  Is  our  revenue  raised 
from  a  willing  or  from  a  reluctant  people  ?  Are  our  taxes 
equitably  or  unequally  apportioned  ?  Is  the  burden  of  taxa- 
tion light  or  grievous  ?  '  Is  our  expenditure  well  managed  ? 
Is  it  kept  within  reasonable  limits  ?  Does  it  admit  of  reduc- 
tion consistently  with  the  requirements  of  the  nation  and  the 

1 


ON  TAXATION.  [SEC.  I. 

CHAP.  i.  proper  protection  of  its  interests  ?  These  are  only  a  few  of 
the  most  prominent  of  the  questions  which  suggest  themselves 
when  we  come  carefully  to  consider  our  national  resources 
and  their  application. 

Spirit  in  Perhaps  the  main  difficulty  which  has  attended  financial 
been  questions  of  late  years,  has  arisen  from  the  spirit  in  which 
diseased.  tney  nave  keen  discussed.  Rarely,  indeed,  do  we  find  the 
subject  debated,  as  it  should  be,  with  freedom  from  party, 
and  with  sole  reference  to  the  best  interests  of  the  nation. 
As  both  the  Parliament  and  the  public  are  likely  in  future 
years  to  be  called  on  to  consider  the  subject  still  more  at 
large,  might  we  not  advantageously  recur  to  a  consideration 
of  the  principles  011  which  our  taxation  is  based  ?  It  cannot 
be  possible  that  we  have  reached  the  limits  of  human  dis- 
covery as  to  the  best  mode  of  dealing  with  the  taxation  of 
the  people.  There  must  be  room  for  improvement ;  and  it 
surely  deserves  the  most  earnest  consideration  in  what  way 
that  improvement  may  be  best  effected. 

Topics     For  the  purpose  of  this  inquiry,  it  is  necessary  to  examine, 
For°pOScon-  i11  the  first  place,  what  we  have  done  and  what  we  have  not 
sideration.  <]one  during  the  last  twenty  years,  with  a  view  to  the  im- 
provement of  our  fiscal  position. 

What  we     In  one  direction — the  direction  aimed  at  by  Sir  Robert 

toTmprove  Peel — great  results  have  been  achieved.     The  trade  of  the 

Taxation.  country  has  been  unshackled.     Prior  to  1842  the  commerce 

of  the  nation  was  clogged  and  trammelled  by  a  thousand 

different  duties,  which,  with  few  exceptions,  have  now  been 

The  removed.     In  1841  there  were  1,162  different  articles  subject 

In  the  Cus-  to  taxation  at  our  Custom-houses,  of  which  the  greater  portion 

tiesf     a"were  loaded  with  duties  which,  whilst  they  brought  little 

revenue  to  the  public  treasury,  opposed  formidable  obstacles 

to   the   extension   of  trade.     In   1862  there   were   only  44 

accom-       articles  chargeable  with  customs'  duties.     This  great  result 

without     has  been  accomplished  without  any  diminution  of  the  revenue 

taionofdtheofthe  department.     In  1841,  the  customs'  duties  on  1,162 

£3     articles   amounted  to  21,898,8452. ;  in  1862,  the  duties  on 

from  Cus-  tne  comparatively  few  articles  subjected  to  duty  produced 

24,036,OOOZ.     Throughout  the  period  during  which  we  have 

been  making  these  important   changes  in  our  tariff,  the 


SEC.  I.]  SURVEY  OF  THE  SUBJECT.  3 

customs'  revenue  has  been  buoyant.*    By  the  extension  of  CHAP,  i. 
commerce  which  has   followed  the  remission  of  duties  on    How  this 
articles  of  import  and  export,  employment  has  been  afforded  effected. 
to  the  industry  of  the  country,  and,  consequently,  the  means 
of  the  people  have  been  increased.     The  natural  result  has 
been  the  increased  consumption  by  the  people  of  articles 
subject  to  taxation,  which  at  once  accounts  for  the  increased 
and  increasing  amount  of  customs'  duties. 

This  has  been  the  great  result  of  the  policy  of  free  trade  The  re- 
initiated by  Sir  Robert  Peel.  The  result  proves  the  wisdom  lishes^  the 
of  that  policy.  The  declared  value  of  exports  of  British  and  ^rde°em  ot' 


Irish  produce  from  the  United  Kingdom,  which,  in  1841,  was 
only  51,545,116?.,  rose,  under  these  commercial  reforms,  to 
135,842,000^.  in  1860.  A  marvellous  increase  indeed  !  An 
increase,  however,  of  which  it  may  be  confidently  predicted, 
that  it  is  only  the  first-fruits  of  a  system  as  yet  quite  in  its 
infancy.  Great  as  is  the  augmented  trade  which  these  figures  Vast 
represent,  it  is  as  nothing  to  what  must  be  the  exportation  of 
this  country,  when  other  nations  begin  to  appreciate 


advantages  resulting  from  the  system  we  have  adopted,  and  ed,  under  a 
come  to  act  under  the  influence  of  our  example.     Between  system, 
1850   and   1860   our   exports   to   France    and    Switzerland 
doubled,  rising  from  15-J^.  per  head  of  the  population  of  those 
countries  to  31%d.  per  head.     This  was  anterior  to  the  full 
operation  of  the  treaty  which  is  now  working  such  beneficial 
effects   011   our  trade   with  France.      But  there   are   other  with  Euro- 
countries  of  Europe  in  which  we  yet  have  to  establish  a  Sons,  * 
market  for  the  products  of  our  industry.     Austria,  for  ex- 
ample, with  nearly  38,000,000  population,  takes  less  from  us 
than  a  million  of  goods  annually  ;  her  whole  trade  with  us 
amounting  to  less  than  6%d.  per  head  per  annum   of  her 
population.     The  balance  of  our  trade  with  Eussia  is  largely 


*  The  Customs'  Commissioners  in  their  First  Eeport  (1857)  say :  "  Under  the 
influence  of  the  simplification  of  the  tariff',  the  reduction  of  duties,  and  the  facilities 
afforded  to  merchants  and.  shippers,  the  commerce  of  Great  Britain  has  shown  a 
marvellous  increase,  and  the  revenue  a  still  more  marvellous  elasticity.  The  net 
aggregate  of  the  reductions  in  the  tariff  amounts  to  above  ten  millions.  Yet  the 
customs'  revenue  has  scarcely  varied  for  the  last  twenty  years— ranging  steadily 
from  twenty-two  to  twenty-three  millions." 


4  ON  TAXATION.  [SEC.  I. 

CHAP.  I.  against  us.  "We  receive  annually  sixteen  millions  of  her  pro- 
duce, and  send  her  directly  only  five  millions  of  ours  ; 
although,  no  doubt,  she  receives  an  additional  supply  of  our 
goods  through  Hamburgh  and  Holland.  Spain,  again, 
although  her  imports  from  Great  Britain  have  been  in- 
creasing, and  will  increase,  under  our  reduced  wine  duties 
and  from  other  causes,  yet  clings  to  a  tariff  which  is  prohibi- 
tory of  many  British  goods,  and,  consequently,  trades  with 
us  to  a  far  less  extent  than  her  population  and  resources 
would  justify. 

and    with     Besides  our  European  trade,  we  have  all  the  countries  of 
the  East  to  develop.     China  takes  our  goods  to  the  extent 


only  of  3>\d.  per  head  of  her  population,  and  India  only  to 
the  extent  of  Ityd.  ;  whilst  we  deal  with  the  United  States 
to  the  extent  of  163d  and  with  South  America  to  that  of 
141  \d.  per  head  per  annum.     Looking  at  such  facts  as  these, 
can  we  doubt  for  a  moment  that  the  trade  of  Great  Britain 
must  increase  under  the  system  to  which  the  policy  of  free 
Circum-  trade  has  already  given  so   great  an  impulse?     Who  can 
wm  question  that  as  Russia,  Austria,  Spain,  and  Italy  become 
penetrated  by  railways,  affording  facilities  for  the  convey- 


of     Great  ance  of  their  own  productions  to  ports  of  shipment,  and  for 
the  circulation   of  those  of  other  countries   through   their 

O 

territories,  we  shall  have  a  trade  with  the  people  of  all  these 
nations  millions  in  excess  of  the  amount  by  which  their  com- 
merce is  at  present  represented  ?  It  has  been  well  said  that 
there  is  nothing  that  Courts  and  Cabinets  learn  so  readily  as 
lessons  in  taxation  ;*  and  if  that  be  so,  who  can  doubt 
that  so  soon  as  the  rulers  of  other  nations  recognise  the  ad- 
vantage of  the  system  under  which  the  commercial  pros- 
perity of  Great  Britain  is  so  rapidly  rising,  they  will  adopt 
,our  principles  of  trade,  as  they  have  adopted  other  principles 
of  taxation,  as  a  means  of  raising  their  exhausted  or  stagnant 


*  Even  the  Court  of  Naples  under  the  Bourbon  family,  supposed  to  be  one  of 
the  most  backward  Courts  in  Europe,  felt  the  influence  of  the  example  of  Great 
Britain  in  regard  to  customs'  duties.  In  the  latter  days  of  the  life  of  King  Ferdi- 
nand II. ,  he  applied  himself  to  the  question  of  taxation,  and  considerably  modified 
the  tariff  of  the  Two  Sicilies,  with  advantage  both  to  the  trade  and  the  finances  of 
his  dominions. 


SEC.  I.]  SUKVEY  OF  THE  SUBJECT.  5 

revenues.      To  India  and  to  China  we  must,  indeed,  our-  CHAP.  I. 
selves  carry  our  own  principles,  adapting  them  to  the  one  by 
improvements  of  her  resources,  and  to  the  other  by  measures 
which  will  facilitate  the  internal  intercourse  which  we  are 
now  endeavoring  to  .open  up.     But  when  we  look  to  the  fact    Our  trade 

.     .        with.  Aus- 

that  our  enterprise  is  doing  a  trade  with  the  two  million  tralia  con- 


people  in  Australia  to  the  extent  of  21,500,0002.  a  year,  ith 
(12,000,0002.  imports  and  9,500,0002.  exports,)  who  can  doubt  ^ 
that"  we  shall  speedily  develop  a  trade  with  the  400  millions 
of  people  in  China  and  the  220  millions  of  people  in  India, 
in  greatly  increased  excess  upon  the  exports  which  we  are  at 
present  sending  to  those  enormous  populations,  and  which 
amount,  at  present,  to  very  little  more  than  the  sum  total  of 
our  trade  with  Sydney  and  Port  Phillip. 

To  proceed,  therefore,  by  every  means  in  our  power  with 
the  development  of  the  system  indicated  by  Sir  Robert  Peel, 
is  our  first  duty  and  our  first  interest.     We  have  done  a 
great  deal  in  that  direction  ;  still  more  will  be  done  by  time, 
by  the  effect  of  our  example,  and  by  the  energy  which  that 
example  has  awakened  throughout  the  world.     But  beyond    What  we 
following  up  the  principles  of  free  trade,  we  have  a  great  done  to  im- 
deal  more  to  do  in  regard  to  taxation,  which  hitherto  can  J£°™  ^ 
scarcely  be  said  to  have  been  attempted.     To  illustrate  this, 
we  must  consider  what,  during  the  last  twenty  years,  has  not 
been  done. 

There  are  more  ways  than  one  in  which  the  revenue  of  a    Modes  in 
nation  may  be  made  sufficient  for  its  expenditure,  and  inrevenue  Of 


which  the  pressure  of  taxation  may  be  rendered  less  burden- 
some  upon  a  people.  It  has  been  already  shown  that, 
1842,  Sir  Robert  Peel,  by  remissions  and  reductions  of  cus-  expendi- 
toms'  duties,  opened  up  a  system  of  free  intercourse  with 
foreign  countries,  which  proved  most  beneficial  to  the  trade 
of  Great  Britain,  afforded  employment  to  our  population, 
increased  their  means,  and  consequently  enabled  them  to 
sustain  the  customs'  revenue  by  increased  consumption 
of  taxed  commodities.  Sir  Robert  Peel  foresaw  what  would 
be  the  effect  of  the  measures  he  initiated.  He  never 
doubted  that  the  revenue  would  be  maintained,  and  that 
the  prosperity  of  the  nation  would  be  increased.  But  to 


6  ON  TAXATION.  [Szc.  I. 

CHAP.  I.  meet  a  deficiency  which  had  at  the  time  been  accumulating 
for  several  successive  years,  to  provide  for  any  temporary 
loss  upon  the  revenue  from  customs,  and,  to  use  his  own 
words,  "  in  order  to  lay  the  foundation  for  a  better  system  of 
"  taxation,"  Sir  Kobert  Peel,  in  1842,  imposed  an  income 
tax,  intended  for  a  temporary  purpose  only,  and  enacted  for 
a  period  only  of  three  years. 

Now,  as  before  observed,  there  are  various  ways  in  which 

a  revenue  may  be  made  sufficient  for  the  wants  of  a  nation  :  — 

i.'By  im-     The  first  is,  by  measures  which  can  effect  such  an  improve- 

theVmfon-  ment  in  the  condition  of  the  people  as  enables  them  to  in- 

the  people!  crease  their  consumption  of  taxed  commodities.     [This  Sir 

Kobert  Peel  effected.] 

2.  Byim-     A  second  is,  by  such  improvements  in  taxation  as  to  lighten 
Taxation,   its  burden  on  the  people  ;  and,  as  Adam  Smith  enforced  it, 
"  to  occasion  the  least  possible  loss  of  money  and  enjoyment 
to  the  contributors,  and  the  least  possible  impediment  to  the 
progress  of  national  industry  and  wealth." 
3.  By     A  third  is,  by  retrenchment  of  expenditure. 
ment.nC          Now,  let  us  inquire  what  has  been  done  during  the  last 
What  has  twenty  years,  under  the  two  last  heads,  to  adapt  the  princi- 
to  improve  ples  of  taxation  to  the  improved  spirit  of  the  age,  and  to 
^retrench  confine  the  expenditure  of  the  nation  within  fair  and  reason- 
limits  ? 


Spirit  in  In  the  outset,  the  writer  would  desire  to  be  understood. 
inquiry  He  does  not  approach  these  questions  in  a  niggardly  spirit, 
proachedP"  or  w^  an  J  desire  *°  recommend  what  has  been  termed  a 
'  cheese-paring'  economy.  Questions  of  revenue  and  taxation 
should  be  regarded  in  a  large,  liberal,  and  comprehensive 
spirit.  When  Sir  .Robert  Peel  came  into  power  in  1841,  he 
found  the  taxation  of  the  country  48,000,000^.  :  it  is  now 
72,000,OOOZ.  It  would  be  wrong  to  contend  that  the  taxa- 
tion of  the  nation  ought  to  be  no  larger  in  1863  than  it  was 
in  1841.  Looking  at  the  increase  in  the  population  numeri- 
cally, looking  at  our  increased  commerce,  increased  pros- 
perity, increased  wealth,  we  ought  all  to  be  ready  to  admit 
that  the  country  is  able  to  bear  a  larger  proportion  of 
national  taxation  than  it  bore  twenty  years  ago.  Neither  is 
it  desirable  to  advocate  reductions  which  will  affect  the  sal- 


SEC.  L]  SURVEY  OF  THE  SUBJECT.  7 

aries  of  that  large  class  of  persons  who  have  embarked  their  CHAP.  i. 
talents  in  the  service  of  the  nation  on  the  expectation  that 
their  employment  will  be  permanent,  and  that  they  will  not 
be  thrown  adrift  at  any  moment  that  a  fit  of  economy  may 
seize  upon  our  Legislature.  Great  responsibilities  devolve 
upon  those  who  are  large  employers  of  talent,  energy,  and 
labour;  and  those  who  employ  such  labour  are  highly  cul- 
pable if  they  hastily  and  unwarrantably  throw  such  persons 
on  their  own  resources.  The  question,  therefore,  is  to  be  ap- 
proached in  no  narrow  or  ungenerous  spirit.  It  is  to  be 
looked  at  largely  and  liberally,  and  with  a  sole  view  to  the 
best  interests  of  our  nation. 

In  the  first  place,  then,  what  has  been  done,  during  the   What  has 

i  .  ,.      .    .  ,   been  done 

last  twenty  years,  to  improve  our  taxation  so  as  to  diminish  to  diminish 


its  burden  and  make  it  productive  of  national  advantage  ? 

Where  a  nation  is  increasing  in  wealth,  it  necessarily  fol- 
lows that  the  pressure  of  taxation  ought  to  be  felt  by  the  tax-  The  bur- 
payers  in  a  degree  diminishing  with  the  increase  of  their  mlSished!" 
prosperity.  But,  despite  the  remission  of  customs'  duties, 
this  has  not  been  the  case  with  us.  On  the  contrary,  the 
taxation  of  the  nation  during  the  last  twenty  years  must  be 
admitted  to  have  been  regarded  as  a  greatly  increased  burden 
on  those  who  pay  the  taxes.  This  does  not  arise  so  much 
from  the  increased  amount  of  the  taxation,  as  from  the  mode 
of  its  assessment,  distribution,  and  collection.  When  Sir  The  in- 
Robert  Peel  was  driven,  most  unwillingly,  and  in  order  to 
meet  a  temporary  exigency,  to  impose  an  income  tax,  he  is 
said  to  have  been  engaged,  night  after  night,  in  consultation 
with  financiers,  politicians,  actuaries,  arithmeticians,  and 
accountants,  endeavouring  to  devise  a  means  of  making  that 
tax  equal  in  its  operation  and  acceptable  in  its  character. 
He  found  the  task  too  difficult  for  immediate  adoption  ;  and  intended 
he,  therefore,  resolved  that  the  tax  must  be  only  used  as  an 
expedient  for  a  temporary  object,  and  must  be  remitted  when 
that  object  was  accomplished.  The  House  of  Commons  and 
the  nation  accepted  the  income  tax  on  those  terms.  It  has 
been  a  costly  tax,  indeed,  to  the  British  people.  It  has  been 
used  by  politicians  of  all  parties  as  a  means  of  defraying 
every  sort  of  financial  extravagance.  Time  after  time  it  has 


8  ON  TAXATION.  [SEC.  I. 

CHAP.  i.  been  re-imposed  by  different  Chancellors  of  the  Exchequer, 
has  become  under  different  excuses  and  with  different  designs,  and  it  is 
nentrnbnr- now  regarded  and  treated  as  if  it  were  to  be  a  permanent 
then,         assessment  on  the  nation.     In  its  operation,  it  has  been  ex- 
ana     has  tended  to  Ireland — it  has  been  extended  to  small  incomes — 
tended  and  it  has  been  raised  exclusively  for  war  purposes,  only  partially 
16  '       diminished  when  peace  returned,  and  varied  in  its  amount 
and  in  its  period  of  collection  to  suit  every  sort  of  momentary 
without     exigency.     Yet  no  attempt  has  been  made  to  adapt  it  to  the 
proved.1™"  people — to   make  its  burden   less  grievous — to   make  it   a 
means  of  developing  national  wealth,  promoting  industry, 
or  of  cultivating  frugal  and  prudential  habits.     No  attempt 
has  been  made  to  improve  its  mode  of  collection,  or  to  econo- 
mize the  cost.     The  tax  has  carried  with  it  every  sort  of 
grievance,  trouble,  vexation,  annoyance,  heart-burning,  and 
strife.     Not  the  slightest  attempt  has  been  made  to  mitigate 
the   evil.     It  has,  indeed,  become  productive  of  no   small 
amount  of  crime,  for  it  has  offered  an  overwhelming  temp- 
tation to  evasion,  and  to  falsehood  and  even  perjury  in  order 
to  accomplish  it.     In  short,  it  may  be  said  to  have  injured 
the  moral  sense  of  the  people,  who  view  offences  against  the 
revenue  lightly,  and  are  even  disposed  to  espouse  the  cause 
of  those  who  defraud  the  State.     Yet  no  attempt  has  been 
made  to  afford  a  remedy ;  and,  although  it  is  well  known 
that  the  assessment  of  this  tax  is  most  incomplete,  and  its 
collection  attended  with  immense  difficulty,  yet  it  is  allowed 
to  be  perpetuated  upon  us  without  any  attempt  to  remedy 
its  evils,  much  less  to  make  its  apportionment  a  fair  assess- 
ment on  the  resources  of  the  nation. 

Apart  from  persistence  in  the  free-trade  policy  pursued 
by  Sir  Robert  Peel,  (which  policy,  indeed,  has  itself  been 
more  than  once  in  peril,)  it  is  a  remarkable  and,  it  must  be 
added,  a  lamentable  fact,  that,  during  the  last  twenty  years, 
the  whole  administration  of  our  finance  has  been  destitute  of 
The  Na-  improvement.     Yast  as  has  been  the  increase  of  our  wealth, 
has    been  it  might  have  been  supposed  that  we  should  have  done  some- 
increased,  -Q^ng  towards  the  reduction  of  our  debt ;  especially  seeing 
that,  in  1860,  there  fell  in  those  terminable  annuities,  which 
the  people  had  so  long  looked  to  as  affording  an  opportunity 


SEC.  L]  SURVEY  OF  THE  SUBJECT.  9 

for  at  least  commencing  a  reduction.     But  the  terminable  CHAP.  i. 
annuities  have  been  absorbed  in   expenditure  without  any  despite  the 
saving  being  effected  to  the  country  ;  and,  in  fact,  so  far  from  Of  ^f  te? 
our  wealth  having  been  employed  to  reduce  debt,  it  has^J^ 
rather  been  employed  to  increase  it  ;  for  it  has  been  made  to 
afford  the  means  and  the  excuse  for  embarking  the  nation  in 
expenditure  which  has  added  millions  to  the  national  debt 
since  1842.     A  truly  lamentable  consideration  this,  when  we  and  our 
calmly  reflect  upon  it:  that  our  increasing  national  wealth  creased  " 
should  actually  have  been  used,  not  to  decrease,  but  to  add  m™™  0Jj£ 
to  the  amount  of  our  already  enormous  national  deficiencies.  liabilities. 

The  facts,  indeed,  are  even  worse  than  this  :  for  not  only 
have   we  increased   our  national  debt  during  a  period  of 
increasing  prosperity,  but  we  have  failed  to  make,  at  any     Nothing 
period   of  that  prosperity,  the  smallest  foundation  for  the  meet    the 
occurrence  of  emergencies.     It   has  always  been  supposed  ^Igencit^se 
that  in  times  of  peace  and  prosperity,  nations  laid  by  some-stato> 
thing  for  times  of  war  and  difficulty  ;  at  .any  rate,  history 
demonstrates  that  wars  have  almost  always  been  undertaken 
by  nations  at  periods  when  they  were  rich  and  prosperous, 
and  when  it  was  imagined  that  the  expenses  of  a  war  could 
be  fairly  defrayed  out  of  the  revenues  and  resources  of  the 
country.     But  not  only  have  we  failed  to  lay  by,  but  our 
wars  have  actually  found  us  unprepared  with  the  finances  to 
meet  them.     "When  the  Russian  war  broke  out,  the  revenue  although 
of  the  nation  had  risen  from  47,000,OOOZ.  in  1842,  to  nearly  nue  of  the 


54,500,0002.  in  1853—  an  increase  of  seven  millions  and  a  half 
per  annum.  This  addition  to  the  revenue  had  been  accruing  crcased> 
from  1842;  during  eleven  years  of  perfect  peace.  Yet  of 
SIXTY-SEVEN  millions  of  money  which,  during  these  eleven 
years,  had  thus  been  added  to  the  national  revenue,  not  one 
single  farthing  had  been  put  by  to  meet  an  emergency  ! 

Since  Sir  Robert  Peel's  resignation  of  office  no  new  prin-    .T!ie  Ad~ 

ministra- 

ciple  has  been  developed  in  the  administration  of  the  finances  tipn  of  ^  our 
of  the  nation.     One  would  suppose,  from  the  experience  of  AffaSfun- 
the  last  twenty  years,  that  the  taxation  of  the  greatest  nation  improved' 
of  the  world  was  susceptible  of  no  improvement,  and  that  in 
the  levy  and  expenditure  of  some  140  millions  of  money 
annually  there  was  nothing  to  be  learnt.     Since  1842  all  that 


10  ON  TAXATION.  [SEC.  I. 

CHAPEL  has  been  done  to  meet  a  difficulty  lias  been  to  increase  the 
income  tax :  all  that  has  been  done  with  the  revenue,  when 
it  has  been  increased,  has  been  to  find  new  objects  on  which 
to  expend  it.  It  is  truly  remarkable  that,  with  the  advance 
of  science,  with  the  development  of  commerce,  with  the  accu- 
mulation of  wealth,  with  the  improvements  in  intercourse, 
with  better  principles  of  legislation,  better  laws,  and  more 
speedy  and  just  administration  of  them,  no  single  attempt 
should  have  been  made  at  improved  administration  of  finance. 
The  State  seems  to  have  no  idea  but  to  spend  as  much  as 
possible :  it  applies  no  new  idea  either  to  the  best  mode  of 
saving,  or  to  the  best  mode  of  raising  the  money  to  spend. 
Others  who  possess  means  try  to  make  them  reproductive. 
The  State  does  nothing  to  make  either  its  revenue  or  its 
expenditure  reproductive.  Its  taxes  are  a  dead  weight,  and 
so  are  its  disbursements.  Of  all  the  seventy  millions  a  year 
now  collected  and  expended,  it  is  difficult  to  find  an  item  that 
can  be  shown  to  reproduce  itself,  except,  it  may  be  con- 
tended, in  the  order  preserved  amongst  our  population  at 
home  and  the  protection  afforded  to  our  property  and 
interests  abroad.  Yet  Sir  Kobert  Peel  certainly  did  show 
us  that  a  readjustment  of  taxation  on  sound  principles  might 
be  made  a  means  of  adding  to  the  national  wealth  and  to  the 
prosperity  of  the  people  without  any  diminution  of  the 
national  revenue.  Is  it  impossible  to  apply  in  other  direc- 
tions the  lesson  we  derived  from  Sir  Robert  Peel  ? 
Our  in-  The  expenditure  of  the  country,  which  was,  in  round  num- 
hers,  50,000,000^.  in  1841,  has  been  increased  to  70,000,OOOZ. 
ture.  -^  igg2.  If  this  rate  of  expenditure  is  to  be  maintained  at 
any  thing  like  its  present  amount,  it  is  quite  obvious  that 
some  means  must  be  taken  to  provide  an  improved  system  of 
raising  the  required  revenue.  As  the  nation  improves  in 
information,  it  will  require  that  progress  should  be  made  in 
the  art  of  raising  revenue  and  economizing  expenditure. 
Already  the  demand  is  energetically  made  that  the  practice 
of  our  Government  should  be  inverted,  and  that  we  should 
regulate  our  expenditure  by  our  income,  and  not  (as  has  been 
our  habit)  force  our  income  to  meet  our  expenditure.  As  the 
income  tax  would  never  have  been  submitted  to  but  for  the 


SKO.  1.]  SUKVEY  OF  THE  SUBJECT.  11 


reductions  in  commercial  taxation  which  accompanied  it,  so 
we  may  be  certain  it  will  never  be  possible  to  perpetuate  it 
without  some  means  are  devised  of  removing  its  inequalities, 
making  its  assessment  less  obnoxious,  and  its  payment  less 
burdensome. 

But  is  our  expenditure  to  be  maintained  at  its  present       is  it  to 
rate  ?     It  is  a  WAR  expenditure.     Its  very  advocates  admit  tained 
the  fact,  when  they  tell  us  that  our  increased  expenditure  is 
needed  for  the  defence  of  the  country  :  which  means,  at  any 
rate,  defensive  WAK.     Is  this  war  expenditure,  then,  to  be 
maintained  ?     Is  it  not  an  error  to  suppose  that  we  can  best 
prepare  for  war  by  maintaining  a  high  rate  of  taxation  in  j  f 

time  of  peace?  Surely  the  best  preparation  for  war  is  eco-  Peace. 
nomical  expenditure.  If  a  nation  begins  a  war  at  a  period 
when  it  has  a  moderate  national  expenditure,  it  is  possible 
by  taxation  to  raise  the  revenue  requisite  to  meet  the  addi- 
tional expenses  of  war.  But  i£  a  nation  begins  a  war  when 
it  has  an  expenditure  only  suited  to  a  state  of  war,  how  is  it 
to  increase  its  taxation  so  as  to  meet  the  burdens  of  a  war  ? 
If  we  persist  in  maintaining  a  war  establishment  in  time  of 
peace,  in  order  to  prepare  for  war,  we  shall  find,  when  the 
war  comes,  that  our  preparations  for  war  have  absorbed  and 
exhausted  our  resources,  and  left  us  nothing  wherewith  to 
meet  the  unavoidably  increased  expenditure  appertaining  to 
a  state  of  war..  In  such  a  case  the  only  recourse  is  to  loans  — 
i.  e.,  permanent  burdens  on  the  nation  —  involving  new  taxa- 
tion to  pay  off  the  invariably  accruing  interest.  But  it  is. 
always  to  be  borne  in  mind  that  permanent  burdens  on  the 
nation  involve  taxes  which  fall  on  its  trade  and  industry, 
thereby  jeopardizing  the  former  and  fettering  the  latter. 
Up  to  a  certain  point  such  taxes  may  be  borne,  but  they  may 
go  too  far,  as  the  case  of  Holland  has  exemplified. 

And  if  this  is  so,  what  more  seriously  dangerous  to  a  nation  Danger 
in  the  event  of  a  war,  than  having  kept  its  expenditure  at  aj^J^^JI 
maximum,  and  thereby  sapped  and  weakened  its  resources  tional  re~ 
in  a  time  of  peace  ?  The  difficulty  of  raising  taxation  is  the 
least  peril  in  such  event.  The  greater  peril  is  that  from  the 
failure  of  resources,  or  the  dissatisfaction  of  the  nation,  and 
their  consequent  refusal  to  vote  the  requisite  supplies,  the 


sources. 


12  ON  TAXATION.  [SEC.  I. 

CHAP.  i.  country  may  be  driven  to  make  peace  at  a  time  and  under 
circumstances  and  conditions  disadvantageous  to  its  interests. 
A  war  expenditure  in  a  period  of  peace,  therefore,  is  not 
merely  disadvantageous  to  the  nation  at  the  time  of  peace, 
and  calculated  to  injure  it  on  the  outbreak  of  a  war,  but  it  is 
absolutely  perilous  in  view  of  the  circumstances  under  which, 
after  a  war  has  been  commenced,  a  peace  can  be  concluded. 
The  whole  Such,  then,  are  the  leading  principles  on  which  it  is  desired 
submitted  to  come  to  the  consideration,  in  detail,  of  our  KEVENUE  and 
EXPENDITURE.  The  two  main  objections  to  the  present  finan- 
cial condition  of  the  country  are  : — 

First,  as  to  the  circumstances  under  which  we  raise  Reve- 
nue :  whether  it  is  levied  in  the  manner  most  conducive  to 
the  interests  of  the  nation  and  to  the  well-being  and  comfort 
of  the  people  ? 

Second,  as  to  the  Expenditure  :  whether  it  is  necessary,  or 
whether  it  is  not  prodigal,  pqrilous,  and  useless  ? 
for  earnest  One  thing  is  certain.  Whatever  may  be  the  difficulties 
tion.1  e  L  which  affect  the  financial  position  of  the  country,  the  only 
means  to  remove  them  is  to  look  them  fairly  in  the  face,  and 
to  consider  them  in  a  calm  and  comprehensive  spirit.  What 
is  most  needed  on  this  question  is  earnestness.  The  great 
financial  interests  of  this  kingdom,  involving,  as  they  do,  the 
greatest  commercial  interests  of  the  world,  surely  should  not 
be  dealt  with  as  they  are  dealt  with,  in  a  mere  party  spirit, 
and  as  a  means  of  shuffling  the  government  of  the  country 
from  the  hands  of  one  party  into  those  of  another.  The 
speeches  of  rival  Chancellors  of  the  Exchequer,  each  imput- 
ing blame  to  the  other,  though  they  may  excite  the  cheers  of 
opposing  parties  within  the  House,  and  the  temporary  admi- 
ration of  the  unthinking  out  of  doors,  can  scarcely  be  regarded 
as  tending  to  a  solution  of  the  subject,  by  those  who  have  at 
heart  the  true  interests  of  the  people.  Reproaches  and  in- 
vectives in  no  way  tend  to  reductions  of  taxation.  "What  the 
nation  really  wants,  is  the  renewed  application  of  a  sound 
principle  to  its  financial  policy. 


CHAPTER  II. 


IT  has  been  already  stated  that  the  great  remissions  made  CHAP.  II. 
between  1842  and  1862  in  the  duties  levied  by  the  Customs  The  re 
were  attended  with  no  loss  to  that  branch  of  the  revenue. 
The  number  of  articles  charged  with  duty  at  various  periods  d 
in  the  interval  is  worthy  of  notice.  tended 

•with       no 
loss  of  Ee- 

In  1841  there  were    charged  with  duty  1,163  articles.  venue. 

"  1845  "  "  1,052       " 

"  1853  "  "  "  466       " 

"  1859  "  "  "  419       " 

"  1862  "  "  "  44      " 

The  gross  produce  of  the  customs'  duty  was — 

In  1841 £21,898,845 

"  1851 22,373,662 

"  1861 23,516,821 

"  1862 24,036,000 

These  figures  and  the  enormous  increase  of  our  trade  cer-  The  policy 
tainly  justify  the  policy  which  dealt  with  the  customs'  duties  °fon  "j^I 
upon  the  principle  of  remitting,  as  far  as  possible,  every  fiedby  the 
duty  that  offered  an  obstacle  to  the  extension  of  the  com- 
merce of  the  country. 

It  is  difficult  to  agree,  therefore,  with  those,  amongst  whom    Has    the 
there  are  some  of  authority  and  eminence,  who  appear  to E™eiFcar- 
tliink   that  this  principle  has  been  carried   too   far.      Mr.  [.ie(*      to° 
M'Culloch,  in  the  recent  Supplement  to  his  "  Commercial 
Dictionary,"  and  in  an  elaborate   article  on   Taxation,  in 
the  last  edition  of  the  "Encyclopaedia  Britannica,"  has  ar-Mr.M'Cul- 
gued  strongly  against  the  recent  Treaty  with  France,  on  theloch 
ground  that  it  sacrificed  revenue  arising  from  duties  levied 
upon  certain  articles  which  may  fairly  be  considered  articles 


ON  TAXATION.  [Sao.  I.. 

I.  Of  luxury     Lord  Overstone,  in  a  powerful  speech  upon  the 
Lordsame  Treaty,  delivered  in  the  House  of  Lords,  March  15, 
stone's       1860,  carried  the  principle  laid  down  by  Mr.  M'Culloch  still 
sidered.      further,  and  argued  in  favour  of  "  moderate  customs'  duties 
upon  all  articles  of  import,  except  upon  those  two  great 
classes  of  articles — the  raw  materials  of  industry  and  the 
first  articles  of  food."     The  fallacy  into  which  these  great 
authorities  would  appear  to  have  fallen,  is  in  regarding  the 
question  of  customs'  duties  solely  from  a  financial  point  of 
view,  and  not  sufficiently  considering  those  duties  as  they 
affect  trade.     Lord  Overstone  certainly  looked  at  the  ques- 
tion solely  with  reference  to  taxation.     "  By  means  of  cus- 
"  toms'  duties,"  said  the  noble  lord,  "  a  considerable  revenue 
"  might  be  raised  in  a  manner  to  which  little  serious  objec- 
"  tion.  could  be  made,  and  the  pressure  of  which  would  be 
"  scarcely  perceptible.     Considering  the  heavy  demands  on 
"  the  Exchequer  of  the  country,  and  the  large  amount  of  re- 
"  venue  which  it  has  now  become  essential  that  we  should 
"  raise,  the  propriety  of  levying  a  moderate  tax  on  all  articles 
"  of  foreign  import,  with  the  exceptions  I  have  stated,  be- 
"  comes  a  grave  and  important  question."     But  surely  is  this 
Principle  a  very  clear  view  of  the  true  interests  of  the  nation  ?     If  a 
Customs'0   customs'  duty,  however  moderate,  imposed  for  a  financial 
should  be°kJec^  prevents  trade  with  a  country  which  would  otherwise 
applied,     receive  your  goods  in  exchange  for  its  products,  it  is  surely 
better  to  remove  the  duty  which  imposes  the  obstacle   to 
4  commercial  intercourse,  than  for  the  sake  of  a  small  revenue 

to  preclude  the  possibility  of  commercial  exchange. 

Undoubtedly,  where  customs'  duties  can  be  imposed  for 
purposes  of  taxation,  without  injury  to  trade,  it  may  be 
conceded  that  they  are  a  desirable  form  of  taxation.  But, 
the  first  object  of  legislation  in  regard  to  customs'  duties 
should  be,  not  to  tax  all  articles  which  do  not  come  within 
the  class  of  raw  materials  or  food,  but,  on  the  contrary,  to 
tax  those  articles  alone  which  can  be  taxed  without  injuri- 
ously affecting  our  trade  with  other  countries,  and  to  tax 
such  articles  only  to  such  an  extent  as  will  not  injuriously 
affect  their  consumption  by  our  own  people.  Upon  the  lat- 
ter point  Lord  Overstone  will  probably  admit  that  for  pur- 


SEO.  L]  CUSTOMS'  DUTIES.  15 


the      Cus 


poses  of  revenue  it  is  quite  as  possible  to  tax  articles  too 
high  as  to  tax  them  too  low,  and  that  whilst  you  may  check 
consumption  by  a  high  rate  of  duty,  you  may  both  increase 
the  national  revenue  and  the  commerce  of  the  country  by  a 
moderate  rate  of  duty. 

The  duties  at  present  levied  under  the  head  of  customs       Duties 
accrue  principally  from  the  following  items  :  — 

CUSTOMS'    REVENUE.  1860.  1861. 

Sugar  and  Molasses  .................  £6,697,312  ..  £6,442,954 

Tea  ................................  5,444,157  ..  5,521,320 

Tobacco  and  Snuff.  .................  5,674,053  ..  5,604,032 

Spirits.  (Rum,  Brandy,  and  Geneva).  2,531,482  ..  2,641,257                * 

Wine  ..............................  1,174,105  ..  1,219,533 

Coffee  ..............................  445,999  ..  442,253 

Fruit  (Currants,  Kaisms,  &c.)  ......  336,946  .  .  318,668 

!N"ow,  the  general  argument  upon  customs'  duties  may  be 
exemplified  by  reference  to  two  of  these  items.  Tea  may 
be  instanced  as  an  article  on  which  the  rate  of  duty  has 
been  prejudicial  to  our  commerce,  and  Tobacco  as  an  article 
on  which  the  rate  of  duty  is  prejudicial  to  our  revenue. 

Probably,  of  all  the  articles  within  the  range  of  our  tax- 
ation, Tea  demonstrates  the  most  remarkably  the  superior 
advantage  of  low  rates  of  duty.     Our  legislators  have,  never-   The  duty 
theless,  always  had  an  inclination  to  tax  tea  at  the  heaviest  on  TEA* 
rates.     Prior  to  1746  the  duty  on  tea  was  4s.  per  lb.,  the  its  history. 
revenue  resulting  from  which   was  only  about  150,OOOZ.  a 
year,  and  that  declining.     In  1746  the  duty  wras  reduced  to 
Is.  per  lb.  and  25  per  cent,  ad  valorem,  and  the  revenue     increase 
immediately  sprung  up  to  nearly  250,000£.  a  year,  and  began  sumption1" 
rapidly  to  increase.     The  exact  amounts  were  as  follow  :  —     dudes  10W 


TEAE.  DUTY  RECEIVED . 

1743 £151,959 

1744 147,065 

1745 145,630 

1746  (duty  reduced) 243,309 

1747  "      257,937 

1748  "      303,545 

Unfortunately,  our  rulers  fancied  that  this  duty  admitted  of 
increase,    and   the  rates   were   again  enhanced  ;  the   conse- 


16  ON  TAXATION.  [SEC.  I. 

CHAP.  II.  quence,  however,  was  to  create  a  vast  amount  of  smuggling 
and  adulteration,  and  in  1784  it  was  found  necessary  again  to 
reduce  the  rate  of  duty.  The  immediate  effect  was  to  double 
the  quantity  of  tea  sold  at  the  East  India  Company's  sales, 
and  at  the  same  time  greatly  to  diminish  the  quantity  im- 
ported into  the  continent  of  Europe,  and  which  found  its 
way  to  England  in  a  contraband  form.  The  quantity  of  tea 
sold  under  the  different  rates  of  duty  is  shown  in  the  follow- 
ing account : — 

TEA  SOLD  AT  EAST  INDIA  COMPANY'S  SALES. 
* 

YEAR.  QUANTITY   SOLD. 

1781 5,023,419  Ib. 

1782 6,283,664 

1783 5,857,883 

1784  (duty  reduced) 10,148,257 

1785  "  16,307,433 

1786  "  15,093,952 

1787  "  16,692,426   " 


In  1795,  and  at  subsequent  periods  during  the  war,  the 
duty  was  again  advanced  ;  and  although  the  effect  was  to  in- 
crease the  amount  of  duty,  which  was  swollen  from  62S,081Z. 
to  upwards  of  3,000,OOOZ.,  the  increased  duty  checked  the 
consumption  of  tea,  which,  in  1816,  was  only  20,000,000  Ib., 
or  an  increase  of  little  more  than  one-fifth  on  the  consump- 
tion of  thirty  years  previous.  In  1833  the  trade  was  opened, 
and  in  1834  the  tea  duties  underwent  a  large  reduction,  and 
the  imports  immediately  rose  as  follows  : — 

TEAR.  IMPORTED.  DUTY. 

1833 32,057,832  Ib.  ..  £3,444,102 

1834 33,643,980  "  . .  3,589,361 

1835  (duty  reduced) 44,360,550  "  . .  3,832,427 

1836 49,307,7ul  "  ..  4,674,535 

Effect  of  But  here  the  Government  again  tampered  with  the  duty, 
totlleduf  raismg  ifc  ^rom  a  rate  °f  ^s-  ^-  UP011  tne  low-priced  teas  to 
2s.  \d.  upon  all  sorts  :  that  is  to  say,  an  increase  of  *ld.  per 
Ib.  upon  that  very  description  of  tea  which  entered  into  the 
most  general  consumption  of  the  people.  The  result  was 
immediately  felt  both  on  the  importation  -and  the  duty  :— 


SKO.  I.]  CUSTOMS'  DUTIES.  17 

TEAR.  IMPORTED.  DUTY.  CHAP.  II. 

1837  ............................     36,973,918  Ib.       ..          £3,323,840  -f^ 

1838  ............................     40,413,714"         ..  3,362,035 

1839  ................  ............     38,158,008  "         ..  3,658,803 

In  the  next  year  the  Government  put  an  additional  five  per 
cent,  upon  the  tea  duty,  and  the  effect  was  again  felt  upon 
the  market  :  — 

TEAR.  IMPORTED.  DUTT. 

1840  ............................     28,021,8822).       ..         £3,472,564 

1841  ..........................  1.     30,787,796  "         ..  3,973,668 

The  improved  condition  of  the  people,  however,  caused  by    Thecon- 
the  measures  of  Sir  Robert  Peel,  and  the  amount  released  increases 
from  payment  of  customs'  duties  upon  other  articles,  had  aHiSprovad 
immediate  effect  in  sending  up  the  consumption  of  tea.     The  °£  "betleo- 
moment  it  could  be  obtained,  every  woman  in  the  country  pie. 
added  a  spoonful  of  tea  to  her  tea-pot.     The  rise  in  the  im- 
portation of  the  commodity,  which  wras  unaccompanied  by 
any  rise  in  the  price  of  the  article,  will  be  seen  from  the  fol- 
lowing :  — 

TEAR.  IMPORTED.  DUTT. 

1842  ............................     40,742,128ft.       ..         £4,088,957 

1843  ............................     46,612,737  "         .  .  4,407,642 

1844  .............  .  ..............     53,147,078  "         .  .  4,524,193 

1851  ............................     71,466,421  "         .  .  5,900,625 

In  1852,  the  tea  duly  underwent  a  small  reduction,  and  in     Effect  of 
the  year  following  the  duty  was  put  at  Is.  6%d.     The  effect  duty  on  the 


was  to  raise  the  importation  in  1854  to  85,792,032  Ib. 
this  did  not  last.  In  consequence  of  the  Russian  war,  the 
duty  was  raised  to  Is.  9d.  in  1856,  and  thereupon  the  impor- 
tation of  1857  decreased  to  64,493,989  Ib.  The  war  having 
ceased,  the  duty  was  reduced  4d.  and  assessed  at  Is.  5d.  per 
Ib.,  at  which  it  still  remains  ;  but  it  will  be  seen  that  it  has 
taken  all  the  interval  between  1857  and  1862  to  bring  back 
the  importation  and  the  duty  to  the  amounts  of  1854. 

YEAR.  IMPORTED.  DUTT. 

1857  ............................     64,493,9895).        ..          £5,060,048 

1858  ............................     75,432,535"  .  5,186,170 

18.-9...  .........................     75,077,452"        ..  5,407,189 

1860  ............................     88,946,636  "         .  .  5,444,157 

1861  ...........................     96,577,382"         ..  5,521,320 

2 


18  ON  TAXATION.  [Sio.  I. 


foregoing  figures  demonstrate,  in  the  first  place,  that 
TEA.      tea  is  an  article  the  consumption  of  which  has,  at  all  times, 
derivecfU  *  been  greatly  affected  by  the  rate  of  duty  ;  and,  in  the  second 
facts  theseplace?  they  show  the  general  and  increasing  desire  of  the 
people  to  consume  tea,  as  they  have  done  in  largely  increased 
quantities,  whenever  their  own  means  and  the  price  of  the 
article  permitted.     These  considerations  may  satisfy  us  that, 
if  the  price  of  tea  could  be  largely  reduced,  the  consumption 
would  increase  in  a  proportionate  ratio. 

The  duty     What  is  the  price  of  tea  ?     The  largest  proportion  of  the 
por-      price  we  pay  for  tea  is  the  Is.  5d.  duty.     The  cost  in  China 


st°f  the  ordinary  sorts  of  tea  in  use  in  England,  does  not  ex- 
pnce.  ceec[  Y-i^.  per  Ib.  The  average  price  of  every  sort  of  tea  per 
Ib.  in  bond  in  London  does  not  exceed  the  present  amount  of 
duty,  all  payments  of  shipment,  charges,  and  profits  being 
included  in  this  amount.  The  duty,  therefore,  is  no  less  than 
200  per  cent,  upon  the  prime  cost  of  tea  in  China,  and  100 
per  cent,  upon  the  average  price  of  the  article  in  London. 
The  duty,  in  fact,  is  higher  at  the  present  time  than  it  was 
in  the  early  part  of  the  present  century,  when  it  was  96  per 
cent,  ad  valorem. 

Benefi-     But  the  increased  opportunity  of  consuming  tea  by  the 

which        people  of  Great  Britain  is  not  the  main  or  material  object  to 

iowthefre"  ^e  obtained  by  a  reduction  of  the  present  rate  of  duty  on  the 

?he  dirt  °f  art^c^e-     -^7  tne  *ast  war  w^tn  China  and  the  treaty  dictated 

to  the  Chinese  by  the  Earl  of  Elgin,  we  opened  the  harbours 

and  rivers  of  the  Chinese  Empire  to  British  vessels  and  Brit- 

ish manufactures.     But  it  is  of  no  use  to  open  harbours  and 

rivers  to  commerce,  unless  we  are  prepared  to  trade  with  the 

people  ;  and  to  trade  with  a  people  we  must  take  for  our 

goods  the  commodities  they  have  to  offer  in  exchange.     Now, 

the  great  commodities  of  China  —  the  only  articles,  in  fact, 

for  which  we  can  trade  with  the  Chinese  upon  a  large  scale  — 

are  tea  and  silk.     The  total  value  of  our  importations  from 

China,  in  1860,  was,  9,323,7642.     Of  this  gross  amount 

The  Value  of  the  Tea  was  ...............................  £6,601,894 

"  Silk  was  ...............................    2,387,867 

£8,989,761 

leaving  only  334,0002.  for  all  the  other  articles  imported. 


SEO.  I.]  CUSTOMS'  DUTIES.  19 

Now,  there  are  facts  which  render  it  certain  that  our  ex-  CHAP.  n. 
ports  to  China  might  be  very  largely  extended,  were  we  only     TEA. 
in  a  position  to  take  in  large  quantities  what  the  Chinese 
have  to  offer  us  in  return  for  our  goods.     Anterior  to  the 
treaty,  our  exports  to  China  never  amounted  in  value  to          Our 
3,000,0002.  a  year,  as  the  following  table  will  show  :—  china  7* 

VALUE  OF  BBITISH  EXPORTS  TO  CHINA, 

1831  .....................................  £547,701 

1841  .....................................   862,570 

1851  .....................................  2,161,268 

1856  .....................................  2,216,123 

1857  .....................................  2,449,982 

1858  .....................................  2,876,447 

The  moment  the  treaty  was  concluded  and  the  trade  its  in  - 
thrown  open,  the  exports  sprung  as  follows  :  — 

1859  ....................................  £4,457,573 

I860..  .  .  ................................     5,318,036 

1861  ..............................  .  .....     4,848,124 

The  cause  of  this  extraordinary  rise  is  to  be  found  in  the  Causes  of 
fact,  that  so  long  as  our  trade  with  China  was  limited  to  OUr  Export 
Canton,  it  was  impossible  to  find  a  market  for  more  than  to 


very  limited  amount  of  our  goods.  Canton  was  the  port  of 
China  most  distant  from  the  seat  of  government  and  from 
the  tea-growing  districts  —  and,  consequently,  it  may  be 
assumed,  from  the  population  and  wealth  of  the  empire, 
Now  China  possesses  no  beasts  of  burden  ;  all  the  animals  in 
that  country  are  reared  for  food;  and,  consequently,  the  Difficni- 
transport  in  the  interior  has  to  be  carried  on  upon  men's  ijfg  ^trans- 
backs,  or  by  manual  haulage  along  the  canals.  These  means  j 
of  transport  are  a  monopoly  of  the  Government,  and  the  cost 
is  excessively  high.  The  cost  of  transport  from  Canton  into 
the  interior  so  greatly  enhanced  the  cost  of  commodities,  that 
their  enhanced  price  prevented  the  possibility  of  making  a 
market  for  them.  In  order,  for  example,  to  be  consumed  at 
Pekin,  where  the  coldness  of  the  climate  rendered  them  most 
useful,  our  woollen  goods  had  to  be  conveyed  no  less  than 
1,200  miles,  over  a  range  of  mountains  unpenetrated  by  the 
canal,  and  across  which  packages  had  to  be  carried  on  men's 


20  ON  TAXATION.  [SEC.  I. 

CHAP.  ii.  backs.     As  a  necessary  consequence,  a  very  large  proportion 
TEA.      of  our  exports  to  China,  prior  to  the  treaty,  never  left  the 
province  in  which  Canton  was  situated.     They  would  not 
bear  the  cost  of  transport. 

field  Gffor  ^u^  now  ^ia*  ^1C  trade  *s  °Pene(3,  and  that  we  are  per- 
additionai  mitted  direct  intercourse  with  Pekin,  Nankin,  and  the  Tea 
china,  districts,  it  follows,  as  a  certainty,  that  we  shall  be  able  to  find 
opportunities  of  selling  our  cottons,  woollens,  linens,  iron, 
hardwares,  cutlery,  &c.,  to  great  advantage  to  the  teeming 
population  of  the  Chinese  empire.  We  shall  be  able,  that  is 
to  say,  if  we  can  take  tea  in  return.  The  bulk  of  the  trade 
of  China  is  in  British  hands.  The  imports  of  the  Empire 
from  every  other  source  than  from  Great  Britain  and  British 
India,  are  comparatively  trifling.  We  have  no  effectual 
foreign  competition  to  apprehend.  We  have  almost  the 
entire  market  of  this  wealthy  empire  in  our  own  hands,  and 
•WQ  have  only  to  develop  it.  Besides  this,  we  are  already  the 
best  customers  of  the  Chinese.  Comparatively  small  as  is  our 
consumption  of  tea,  we  consume  as  much  as  all  the  other 
European  nations  put  together.  As  regards,  therefore,  both 
our  import  and  our  export  trade  with  China,  we  are  in  a  most 
advantageous  position  for  the  development  of  our  trade.  It 
is  utterly  impossible  to  say  to  what  amount  we  may  find  a 
market  for  British  manufactures  amongst  the  400  millions  of 
people  of  China,  if  we  only  place  ourselves  in  a  position  to 
deal  with  them. 

if  we  are     Our  import  trade  into  China  must,  however,  be  regulated 
T^ain^by,  and  must  depend  solely  on,  the   export  trade  of  that 
ou?ng0pro-coimtr7-     The  trade  is  a  direct  barter  trade,  and  it  is,  there- 
ducts.       forej  only  an  increase  of  exports  that  can  cause  a  correspond- 
ing increase  in  imports.     For  some  years  past  we  have  been 
receiving   from  China  increasing  quantities  of  silk.      Silk, 
however,  is  a  high-priced  article.     It  can  only  be  obtained  in 
moderate  quantities ;  and  its  consumption  can  only  extend 
in  proportion  with  the  growing  luxury  and  wealth  of  nations. 
An  increased  demand  for  silk,  from  the  very  nature  of  the 
article,  must  be  a  slow  operation ;  and,  therefore,  it  is  to  tea 
alone  that  we  can  look  as  the  article  for  which  to  barter  our 
manufactures. 


SEO.  I.]  CUSTOMS'  DUTIES.  21 

There  can  be  no  question  that  China  can  supply  tea  to  any  CHAP.  II. 
extent.     We  do  not  know  the  quantity  she  grows,  but  we  do     TEA. 
know  that  our  increased  demand  for  tea  has  not  had  the  effect  of       T2 
of  raising  the  price  of  the  article  at  any  of  her  ports  of  export ;  china  can 
and  we  have  also  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  cultivation  produce, 
of  the  plant  in  China  may  be  indefinitely  extended,  if  exten- 
sion were  required.     We  also  know  that  our  market  here, 
even  under  the  circumstances  of  a  war  writh  the  producing 
country,  has  never  been  drained   of  tea — has  never  been, 
indeed,  without  a  surplus  stock  to  meet  any  extraordinary 
demand. 

Would  the  demand  arise  if  the  price  of  tea  could  be  re-  Probable 
duced?  It  was  calculated  some  years  since  that  the  con-  therease<ie- 
sumption  per  head  of  tea  in  the  Isle  of  Man,  where  there  is 
a  duty  of  six  pence  per  pound,  was  nearly  double  that 
Great  Britain  ;  that  in  the  Channel  Islands,  where  there  is  reduced, 
no  duty,  the  consumption  was  nearly  four  times  that  of  Great 
Britain ;  and  that  in  Australia,  where  they  get  their  tea 
direct  from  China,  «and  tax  it  only  at  the  rate  of  three  pence 
per  pound,  the  quantity  consumed  per  head  was  five  or  six 
times  the  quantity  consumed  at  home.  But  still  stronger 
evidence  is  afforded  by  the  circumstances  of  our  own  trade. 
We  have  seen  that  whenever  the  tea  duties  have  undergone 
reduction  in  this  country,  the  consumption  has  increased  be- 
yond all  proportion.  We  have  seen  that  on  the  reduction  from 
4s.  to  2s.  in  1746,  the  quantity  consumed  increased  in  the  first 
year  from  620,000  Ib.  to  1,800,000  Ib. ;  that  in  1784,  when  the 
duties  were  again  reduced,  the  consumption  immediately  rose 
from  5,857,000  Ib.  to  10,148,000  Ib. ;  and  that  in  1835,  the  first 
whole  year  of  the  reduced  duties,  the  consumption  rose  from 
33,000,000  Ib.  to  44,000,000  Ib.  We  have  also  seen  how 
largely  the  consumption  increased  immediately  the  measures 
of  Sir  Robert  Peel  gave  employment  to  the  population.  We 
know,  moreover,  that  the  Temperance  movement  has  done 
much  to  augment  the  consumption  of  tea  in  all  parts  of  the 
United  Kingdom  ;  that  the  taste  for  tea  has  become  general 
in  these  realms  ;  that  it  has  become  an  article  of  almost  the 
first  necessity  to  the  poor ;  and  that  the  present  retail  price — 
not  less,  certainly,  than  3s.  6d.  per  pound,  or  seven  times 


22  ON  TAXATION.  [Szc.  I. 


HAP^II.  its  first  cost—  must  be  very  restrictive   of  its  consumption 
TEA.      amongst  the  bulk  of  our  population.     Knowing  these  things, 
it  is  impossible  to  doubt  that  the  consumption  of  tea  would 
rise  in  proportion  to  a  reduced  price. 

Probable  Would  the  revenue  suffer  if  the  duty  underwent  a  liberal 
reduced  *  reduction  ?  Admittedly,  it  is  not  desirable  to  peril  the  loss 
jSJSJnJf011  of  five  millions  and  a  half  of  revenue.  But  it  is  a  remark- 
able feature  of  this  duty,  that  whilst  the  consumption  of 
tea  has  been  affected  by  every  variation  of  taxation,  the 
revenue  has  never  suffered  from  any  remission  of  duty. 
In  1833,  under  the  high  rates  imposed  during  the  war,  the 
duty  amounted  to  3,444,0002.  In  1836,  under  the  reduced 
ad  valorem  rates,  it  rose  to  4,674,0002.  "When  the  duty  was 
reduced  Sd.  per  pound  in  1853,  (from  2s.  2%d.  to  Is.  6J<#.,) 
the  revenue  fell  from  5,683,0002.  in  1853,  to  4,780,0002.  in 
1854.  But  it  commenced  to  recover  itself  immediately,  and 
in  1861,  under  a  duty  of  Is.  5d.  per  pound,  it  amounted  to 
5,521,3202.  Having  regard  to  this  experience,  arid  consider- 
ing the  almost  universal  demand  of  our  population  for  the 
article,  it  may  fairly  be  assumed  that  an  immediate  reduction 
of  the  duty  by  one-third  might  be  effected  without  any  ap- 
prehension of  serious  loss  to  the  revenue,  especially  as  an  jin- 
creased  consumption  of  sugar  would  naturally  attend  an 
increased  use  of  tea. 

A.nadva-  It  would  unquestionably  be  very  desirable  to  levy  the  duty 
uponTe*  on  tea  according  to  its  value.  Ordinary  descriptions  of 
Bohea  tea  can  be  sold  in  London  at  10<£,  or  at  most  Is.  per 
pound  ;  so  that  a  6d.  duty  on  that  description  of  article 
would  enable  the  poor  man  to  obtain  his  tea  at  Is.  6d.  per 
pound,  at  which  price,  it  cannot  be  doubted,  that  the  con- 
sumption would  be  immensely  enhanced.  It  will  be  said,  no 
doubt,  that  an  ad  valorem  scale  of  duties  on  tea  was  tried  in 
1834,  and  found  not  to  answer.  It  may  be  doubted  whether 
the  system  had  a  fair  trial.  It  was  only  in  existence  for  a 
year  and  a  few*  months,  and  it  seems  to  have  been  put  an  end 
to  in  consequence  of  complaints  from  the  tea-importers  that 
their  teas  were  not  fairly  assessed.  Those  complaints  were 
directed,  it  would  seem,  against  the  imposition  of  the  higher 
rates  of  duty  ;  and  it  is  not  improbable  that  the  Customs' 


SBC.  I.]  CUSTOMS'   DUTIES.  23 

authorities,  who  twenty  years  back  were  far  more  imperious  CHAP.  n. 
than  in  these  days,  did,  in  their  ignorance,  perpetrate  acts  of 
injustice  in  the  assessments,  which  caused  the  complaints  re- 
ferred to.  The  Customs'  administration  of  our  day  is,  how- 
ever, more  liberal,  and  the  knowledge  of  the  commercial 
value  of  tea  is  also  probably  more  widely  diffused  than  when 
the  article  was  just  emerging  from  the  monopoly  of  the  East 
India  Company.  If  teas  were  classified  in  two  or  three 
different  sorts,  at  a  low,  a  medium,  and  a  comparatively 
high  duty,  it  is  probable  that  differential  rates  might  now 
be  levied  without  those  complaints  which  caused  the  discon- 
tinuance of  the  system  of  ad  valorem  duties  in  1834.  The 
consequence  would,  no  doubt,  be  enhanced  revenue,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  greatly  increased  quantity  of  tea  which  the 
great  bulk  of  the  population  would  be  able  to  consume. 

Tea  illustrates  the  injurious  effects  of  a  high  rate  of  cus- 
toms' duty  upon  commerce.  The  next  article  on  the  list  of 
customs'  duties  illustrates  the  bad  effect  of  a  high  rate  of 
duty  upon  revenue. 

Tobacco  is  an  article  which  is  a  fair  subject  for  the  highest   The  duty 
taxation  that  can  be  advantageously  imposed.     But  in  the  co. 
case  of  every  duty  there  is  a  limit  beyond  which  the  attempt 
at  taxation  causes  an  absolute  loss  of  income.     In  the  his-       Disad- 
tory  of  taxation  nothing  has  been  more  satisfactorily  estab-  hfgh^ates 
lished  than  the  fallacy  of  imposing  duties  at  rates  which  have  ^^  °0f 
a  tendency  to  check  consumption.     All  duties  upon  articles  f^^ 
of  consumption  ought  to  be  assessed  upon  a  scale  which  per-  tion. 
mits  the  expansion  of  the  consumption  with  the  population 
and   prosperity  of  the  country.     This  is   necessary  for  the 
nation   itself.      Increasing  consumption   implies   increasing 
trade :   the  use  of  additional   capital :   the   employment   of 
more  ships  and  sailors :  the  exportation  of  more  goods  to 
pay  for  the  article  imported  :  the  use  of  additional  quantities 
of  the  raw  material  requisite  in  the  manufacture  of  such 
goods  :  the  employment  of  more  labour  in  their  production  : 
the  improvement  of  machinery  for  their  manufacture  :  more 
ships  and  seamen  in  introducing  the  raw  material  and  ex- 
porting the  manufactured  article — in  fact,  more  employment 


24  ON  TAXATION.  [SEC.  I. 

CHAP.  II.  for  industry,  more  prosperity,  and,  consequently,  increased 
consumption. 

On  the  ctlier  hand,  what  is  the  effect  of  a  disproportionate 
rate  of  diity  ?     It  creates  a  contraband  trade  ;  thereby  creates 
crime,  causes  an  undue  national  expenditure  in  efforts  to  re- 
press, detect,  and  punish  it  ;  and,  more  than  that,  it  creates 
a  revulsion  of  moral  feeling  amongst  the  people,  who  treat 
offences  against  the  revenue  with  sympathy,   espouse   the 
cause?  and  endeavour  to  redress  the  wrongs  of  the  offender. 
The  high     The  duty  upon  unmanufactured  tobacco  is  3s.  If  d.  per  lb., 
at  which  rate  it  has  stood  (allowing  for  the  5  per  cent,  ad- 
dition in  1840)  since  the  year  1825.     The  average  value  of 
tobacco  in  bond  is  about  4£d.  per  lb.,  consequently  the  cus- 
toms' duty  forms  an  impost  of  900   per  cent,  ad  valorem. 
So  far  back  as  1844,  a  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons 
was  appointed,  under  the  chairmanship  of  Mr.  Hume,  to  in- 
quire into  the  operation  of  this  duty.     The  inquiries  of  that 
Committee  established  that  such  was  the  enormous  quantity 
of  tobacco  surreptitiously  introduced  into  the  country,  that 
the  bulk  of  the  trade  might  be  said  to  be  in  the  hands  of 
throws  the  smugglers  :  —  that  this  commodity  constituted  the  main,  if 
to*d\ands  n°t  the   sole,  object  of  smuggling  transactions  —  that  wide- 
of    smug-  Sprea(j  demoralization  resulted  therefrom  —  and  that  the  duties 
might  be  reduced  to  such  a  point  as  would  effectually  put  an 
end  to  smuggling  without  sacrifice  of  revenue.     When  the 
evidence  of  the  Committee  was  reported  to  Parliament,  there 
was  a  general  agreement  that  the  high  duties  which  encour- 
aged the  smuggling  of  tobacco  were  altogether  inconsistent 
with  sound  principles  of  taxation  ;  but,  nevertheless,  a  pe- 
riod of  nearly  twenty  years  has  been  allowed  to  pass  with- 
out the  smallest  attempt  to  remedy  the  evil,  or  to  put  our 
tobacco  duties  on  a  proper  footing. 

That  the  state  of  things  has  not  improved  since  1844  is 
very  conclusively  established  by  recent  public  documents. 
Limited     According  to  the  "  Report  of  the  Commissioners  of  Cus- 
h  the  toms"  °^  1861,  tobacco,  of  all  the  articles  of  daily  use  in  this 


consump-  country,  was  that  of  which  the  consumption  increased  the 
paid  To  least.  They  state  that  the  computed  real  value  of  our  im- 
in"  ports  in  1860  rose  from  179,000,0002.  in  the  preceding  to 


SEC.  I.I  CUSTOMS'  DUTIES.  25 

210,648,000?.  in  that  year;  and  they  give  the  following  table,  CHAP.H. 
showing  the  rate  at  which  the  imports  of  the  principal  arti- 
cles of  daily  consumption  had  increased  : — 

Flour 53  per  cent. 

Corn 39         " 

Currants 33  " 

Spirits 11  " 

Sugar  (refined) 6  " 

Tea.. 6  " 

Coffee 3  " 

Tobacco  (only) 1  " 

The  Commissioners,  it  must  be  said  to  their  credit,  have  .    infrao- 
never  hesitated  to  attribute  this  unsatisfactory  state  of  things  Eevenue 
to  the  right  cause.     It  was  shown,  before  the  Committee  of  l 
1844,  that  of  the  whole  number  of  convictions  for  breaches 
of  the  re  venue  laws,  five-sevenths  were  in  respect  of  tobacco. 
The  smuggling  of  tobacco  not  only  appears,  in  fact,  to  form     Tobacco 
a  distinct  branch  of  trade,  but  to  be  an  occasional  occupation 
of  the  great  bulk  of -the  seafaring  population  in  our  seaports. 
Most  of  our  merchant  seamen  are  occasional,  many  of  them  shores  and 

TI  v  p  rs 

constant,  smugglers.  Every  steamer  between  Great  Britain 
and  the  ports  of  the  Continent  is  believed  to  bring  over  more 
or  less  tobacco,  which  is  landed  without  paying  duty.  The 
tobacco  is  generally  concealed  amongst  the  coals  or  cargo ; 
but  so  ingenious  are  the  contrivances  resorted  to,  that  even 
when  they  receive  information  respecting  it,  the  Customs' 
officers  have  great  difficulty  in  discovering  the  goods.  On 
both  shores  of  the  Thames  there  are  said  to  be  innumerable 
receiving-houses  for  tobacco.  The  families  of  the  sailors  are 
often  engaged  in  the  trade.  Boys  and  girls  hang  about  the 
vessels,  and  rarely  leave  them  without  carrying  parcels  of 
tobacco.  Many  of  the  receiving-houses  employ  gangs  of 
children  for  this  object,  and  it  is  impossible  to  stop  the  sys- 
tem. One  boy  informed  a  Custom-house  officer  that  he  had 
run  no  less  than  sixty  pounds  of  tobacco  in  one  day  from  a 
vessel  lying  off  the  Custom-house.  He  was  in  the  habit  of 
going  backwards  and  forwards  to  the  ship,  apparently  on 
errands,  and  he  entirely  escaped  the  suspicions  of  the  officer 
on  board. 


ON  TAXATION.  [Sue.  I. 

.      Mr.  Dean,  the  late  estimable  Chairman  of  the  Board  of 
impossi-  Customs,  expressed  his  opinion  that  it  was  quite  impossible 
checking0  to  check  the  smuggling  of  tobacco.      The  smuggler,  he  said, 
toifficmicit  laughs  at  restrictions.     He  defies  the  revenue.     The  more 
checks  you  impose,  the  more  documents  you  give  him,  the 
better  he  is  armed  in  order  to  defraud,  and  even  to  defy  sus- 
picion.    The  employment  of  "  spies  "  and  "  informers  "  is 
the  only  effectual  means  of  getting  at  illicit  traffic  ;  but  here 
you  are  giving  a  premium  to  vice,  and  an  encouragement  to 
the  worst  class  of  the  community.     Besides,  if  the  reward  is 
high,  you  are  only  offering  a  premium  for  fraud.     Mr.  Dean 
expressed  himself  decidedly  adverse  to  any  augmentation  of 
the  rewards  to  informers,  because  "he  had  no  doubt  that 
"  many  people  had  informed  against  their  own  tobacco  to 
"  get  the  reward  offered  by  the  Customs." 

Expense     The  expenses  incurred  in  legal  and  other  proceedings  con- 
of  Govern-  nected  with  tobacco-smuggling  are  not  deducible  from  the 


accounts  of  the  Commissioners  of  Customs.  In  1843,  the 
prosecution  expenses  in  the  department  of  the  Solicitor  of 
the  Customs  were  charged  at  11,308?.,  and  probably  that 
amount  has  not  diminished.  The  Solicitor  to  the  Customs 
stated  to  the  Committee  that  "juries  were  disinclined  to 
"  award  the  high  penalties  imposed  by  law  on  breaches  of 
"  the  revenue  laws  as  regards  tobacco."  The  sympathy  of 
the  country,  in  fact,  is  with  the  smuggler  and  against  the  re- 
venue. 

Latest  Ee-  In  their  report  of  1861,  the  Commissioners  of  Customs  state 
Sommis-  °  that  "  the  general  tone  of  the  reports  from  their  officers  as 
Customs  as"  regar(ls  tne  state  °f  smuggling  gives  us  no  great  increase 
to  Tobacco  "  or  decrease  to  report.  Attempts  are  continually  made  to 

. 

"  run  small  quantities  of  tobacco  from  vessels  arriving  from 
"  America,  and  the  practice  of  subdividing  the  amount,  when 
"  found,  amongst  the  crew,  in  order  to  bring  it  within  the 
"  limit  from  which  a  summary  conviction  only  can  be  ob- 
"  tained,  and  enable  the  offenders  to  pay  the  fine  and  escape 
"  imprisonment,  appears  to  have  been  more  resorted  to. 

"  The  increase  in  the  number  of  articles  delivered  free, 
"  and  consequently  on  a  very  trifling  examination,  does  not 
"  appear  (as  far  as  we  can  judge  by  the  detections  made)  to 


SEO.  I.  CUSTOMS'  DUTIES.  27 


"  have  much  added  to  the  attempts  made  to  conceal  dutiable  CHAP^II. 

"  goods  therein.     One  seizure  of  this  kind  has,  however,  been 

"  made  at  Leith  of  746  Ib.  leaf  tobacco  concealed  in  bundles 

"  of  willows.     The  goods  were  consigned  to  a  German,  Jew 

"  residing  in  Edinburgh,  but,  as  he  repudiated  the  same,  there 

"  was  not  sufficient  evidence  to  warrant  proceedings  being 

"  taken. 

"There  have  been,  in  the  course   of  last  year,   several  ^^  ***>**- 
"  seizures   made  by  the   Coast-guard  both  of  tobacco  and  character 

,  .   ,  ,  .  and  extent 

"spirits,  amongst  the  largest  of  which  we  may  mention  a0ftheiiiicit 
"  seizure  of  700  Ib.  of  manufactured  tobacco  found  concealed  trade< 
"  under  an  old  boat  at  Innishowen  Head,  within  the  port 
"  of  Londonderry.* 

"  A  large  seizure  of  1,981  Ib.  of  unmanufactured  tobacco, 
"  a  waggon,  and  two  horses,  was  made  by  the  Hants  con-- 
"  stabulary  in  June  last. 

"  The  furnishing  of  deputations  to  the  dock-yard  police  at 
"  Portsmouth  continues,  also,  to  be  of  advantage,  as  several 
"  seizures  have  been-  made  from  men  landing  from  Her 
"Majesty's  ships,  though  none  of  them  to  any  very  con- 
"  siderable  amount. 

"  We  trust  that  some  check  has  been  put  on  the  shipment 
"  of  tobacco  stalks  from  the  Channel  Islands,  intended  to  be 
"run  into  England  or  Ireland,  by  the  vigilance  of  the  officers 
"  there,  who  have  lately  effected  several  large  seizures. 

"  On  the  12th  of  last  May,  the  cutter  Fly  was  seized  in 
"  Portelet  Bay,  in  the  island  of  Jersey,  wiien  in  the  act  of 
"  being  loaded  with  4,100  Ib.  of  tobacco  stalks.  The  owner 
"  escaped  at  the  time,  but  was  subsequently  arrested  and  con- 
"  victed.  We  have  reason  to  believe  that  in  this  instance  the 
"  goods  were  intended  to  be  landed  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
"  Dublin,  as  the  Collector  of  that  port  had  received  informa- 
"  tion  of  an  intended  run,  and  the  name  given  to  him  was  that 


*  In  the  preceding  year  the  Commissioners  reported  an  attempt,  made  at  Gal  way, 
to  smuggle  "  upwards  of  1,000  Ib.  weight  of  tobacco  in  Uncases,  cleverly  inserted 
"in  tierces  of  pickled  pork;  and  also  1,300  Ib.  of  snuff,  distributed  through  ten 
"casks  of  flour." 


28  ON  TAXATION.  JSEO.  I. 


.  «  of  the  person  by  whom  the  stalks  were  being  shipped  at 

"  Jersey." 

Considera-  An  apprehension  of  loss  to  the  revenue  has  probably  been 
adduction  the  main  cause  which  has  deterred  successive  Governments 
of  dut/ate  fr°m  aPpljmg  sound  principles  of  taxation  to  this  article. 
Now,  it  is  very  difficult  to  suppose  that  the  tobacco  duties 
form  an  exception  to  the  rule,  that  when  a  duty  is  excessive, 
its  reduction,  so  far  from  being  necessarily  followed  by  a  loss 
of  revenue,  may,  on  the  contrary,  lead  to  an  increase.  It  is 
to  be  observed,  that  tobacco  is  an  article  in  very  general  use. 
It  is  altogether  a  foreign  commodity  ;  its  prime  cost  is  small, 
and  its  price  to  the  consumer  may  be  made  moderate,  con- 
sistently with  raising  from  it  a  considerable  tax.  To  be  pro- 
ductive, it  appears  to  be  only  necessary  that  the  duty  should 
be  fixed  at  such  a  rate  as  will  render  the  trade  of  smuggling 
no  longer  profitable.  It  is  said  that  tobacco  cannot  be  intro- 
duced by  the  smuggler  under  from  Is.  %d.  to  Is.  Qd.  per  lb., 
which  would  appear  to  fix  the  rate  of  duty  at  which  the 
revenue  would  be  most  productive.  This  object  should  un- 
questionably be  looked  to  in  assessing  the  duty  on  the 
article  ;  for,  admittedly,  there  is  no  other  substantial  ground 
for  a  reduction  of  the  duty  on  tobacco,  than  that  the  high 
rate  is  injurious  to  revenue. 

Consump-  Considerable  as  is  the  quantity  of  tobacco  consumed  in 
bacco.  °"  Great  Britain,  it  is  nothing  compared  with  the  quantity  used 
in  Germany  and  in  Holland,  and  the  people  of  other  northern 
European  nations.  For  every  12  oz.  of  duty  paid  tobacco 
consumed  in  England,  the  people  of  Belgium  have  been  esti- 
mated to  consume  22,  the  Germans  48,  the  Dutch  54,  and  the 
Americans  84.  It  is  probable  that  the  supposed  consumption 
in  this  country  is  underrated  ;  the  additional  quantity  con- 
sumed being  tobacco  never  brought  to  duty. 

Aduitera-     In  consequence  of  the  high  rates  of  duty,  many  efforts  are 

article^  tbe  ma^e  at  adulteration,  which  also  have  the  effect  of  checking, 

in  some  degree,  the  importation  of  tobacco.     Mr.  Phillips, 

the  chymist  to  the  Board  of  Inland  Revenue,  states  in  a  Re- 

port of  the  past  year,  that  the  manufacturers  strive  anxiously 

to  increase  the  quantity  of  water  introduced  into  cut  tobacco, 

^     and  that  in  some  quarters  it  is  believed  that,  in  order  to  pre- 


SEO.  I.]  CUSTOMS'  DUTIES.  29 

vent  the  tobacco  being  spoiled  by  the  presence  of  an  undue  CHAP.  n. 
proportion  of  water,  recourse  is  had  to  some  illicit  substance 
possessing  preservative  properties.     In  Scotland  and  Ireland, 
cabbage  leaves  are  used  to  adulterate  roll  tobacco ;  and  in 
Yorkshire  last  year,  two  manufacturers  were  convicted  and 
subjected  to  heavy  penalties  for  mixing  rhubarb  leaves  with 
their  tobacco. 
Manufactured  tobacco,  in  the  form  of  cigars  and  snuff,  is     ,  <pgare 

and  Snuff. 

subjected  to  a  much  higher  rate  of  duty  than  unmanufactured 
tobacco.  The  duty  is  not  less  than  9s.  5%d.  per  Ib.  on  these 
articles ;  the  value  of  which,  however,  is  very  various ;  the 
cigars-  of  different  countries  bearing  commercial  values 
varying  from  TJ^,  per  Ib.,  in  the  case  of  American  cigars,  to 
11s.  Id.  per  Ib.  and  upwards,  in  the  case  of  real  Havannahs.  • 
This  very  high  rate  of  duty,  as  might  have  been  expected, 
has  quite  checked  consumption.*  For  the  last  ten  years  our 
importation  of  manufactured  tobacco  has  not  increased — 
indeed  in  1861  it  was  less  than  in  1857,  and  in  1862  (judging 
from  the  returns  up  to  October)  the  quantity  imported  will 
'be  found  to  have  undergone  a  very  serious  diminution.  In 
respect  to  cigars,  the  public  are  much  imposed  upon  by  the 
substitution  of  home-made  articles  of  small  value  for  high- 
class  cigars  of  Havannah  manufacture.  In  snuff  the  revenue  Adultera- 
and  the  public  suffer  mostly  from  adulterations  :  water,  alka- 
line  salts,  and  lime  are  used  to  an  extent  not  essential  to  the 
proper  preparation  of  the  article ;  and  in  some  descriptions 
of  snuff  a  large  quantity  of  salad  is  introduced,  under  the  plea 
that  such  sand  was  imported  with  the  tobacco,  and  had  paid 
the  duty.  These  things  show  how  difficult  it  is  to  collect  the 
revenue  and  prevent  frauds  in  these  articles ;  and  how  much 


*  Cigars  are  smuggled  to  an  immense  extent,  and  in  every  variety  of  form.  With, 
the  last  Report  of  the  Inland  Revenue  Commissioners,  a  diagram  was  published 
which  exhibited  a  curious  illustration  of  one  of  the  many  ingenious  methods  prac- 
tised. A  case  of  toys  was  imported  containing  eighteen  separate  boxes  of  toys 
arranged  cross-wise.  Each  box  was  filled  at  the  top  with  toys,  but  was  divided  in 
the  middle  by  a  partition,  under  which  were  concealed  layers  of  cigars.  The  fraud 
could  only  be  discovered  by  emptying  the  toys  out  of  each  box.  Such,  and  so 
various  and  clever,  are  the  modes  of  concealment  in  fancy  boxes,  manufactures  of 
cotton,  &c.,  that  the  utmost  vigilance  of  the  officers  is  quite  insufficient  to  detect 
such  attempts. 


30  ON  TAXATION.  [Sao.  I. 

CHAP.  ii.  the  fair  trader  and  the  public  suffer  from  the  excessive  rates 
of  duty.  In  Ireland,  where  high-dried  snuffs  are  largely 
used,  the  manufacturers  are  said  to  have  been  very  prone  to 
adulteration ;  driven  to  it,  no  doubt,  by  the  necessity  of  pre- 
paring a  low-priced  article  for  the  great  bulk  of  the  poor 
population  of  the  country.  The  latest  adulterant  employed 
in  Ireland  is  the  ground  acorn  cups  of  the  valerian  oak ; 
which  present  exactly  the  same  appearance  to  the  eye  as  high- 
dried  snuff,  and  cannot  be  detected  except  by  chemical  tests 
and  the  aid  of  the  microscope.  During  last  year  six  manu- 
facturers in  Ireland  were  convicted  of  adulterating  their  snuff 
with  Valeria. 

The  foregoing  facts  clearly  show  the  necessity  of  putting 
the  tobacco  duties  on  a  better  footing.  Few  would  recom- 
mend this  to  be  done  rashly,  hastily,  or  with  danger  to  the 
revenue.  Were  the  duty  reduced  within  proper  limits,  the 
revenue  would,  probably,  gain  and  not  lose  by  the  large 
additional  quantities  brought  to  charge ;  but  it  must  also  be 
admitted  that  our  first  duty,  in  this  case,  is  to  look  to  reve- 
nue, and  that  the  reduction  of  the  tobacco  duties  should  be ' 
made  with  proper  caution  and  at  a  favourable  opportunity. 

The  duties     The   Sugar  duties,  which  return  so  large  an  amount  as 
AE<  6,500,OOOZ.  to  the  Customs'  revenue,  illustrate  the  willingness 
of  the  British  public  to  submit  to  taxation,  when  it  is  rea- 
sonable in  its  application,  and  not  unjustly  or  injuriously 
levied.     The  duty  on  sugar,  wliich  is  not  only  an  article  of 
direct  universal  consumption,  but  which  in  a  great  variety 
of  forms  enters  into  and  enhances  the  price  of  a  large  num- 
ber of  other  articles,  has  for  the  last  80  years  amounted  to  a 
serious  impost  on  the  taxpayer ;  but,  although  these  duties 
have  constantly  been  the  subject  of  parliamentary  discus- 
sion, the  complaints  respecting  them  have  not  emanated  so 
much  from  the  taxpayer  as  from  rival  interests,  who,  have 
sought  to  obtain  some  benefit  from  the  mode  of  assessment. 
Contests  Thus,  in  the  early  part  of  the  present  century,  the  great  con- 
theFreCtiaitest  was  not  as  to  tne  amount  of  the  tax,  although  it  was  un- 
sessment:  reasonably  high,  but  as  to  the  differential  duties  between 
British  Plantation  and  East  India  sugars,  the  former  of  which 


SEC.  I.]  CUSTOMS'  DUTIES.  31 

were  taxed  at  the  rate  of  27s.  per  cwt.,  whilst  the  latter  were  CHAP,  n. 
not  admitted  under  37s.     In  1836,  the  East  India  interest  between 
was  able  to  throw  off  this  extra  burden,  and  the  duties  on  and   west 
sugars  produced  in  the  East  and  "West  Indies  were  equalized.       a    in~ 


At  that  period,  however,  a  heavy  differential  duty  was 
levied  on  all  foreign  sugar :  which  was  taxed  at  the  rate  ol 
66s.  per  cwt.,  whilst  East  India  and  Colonial  was  taxed  at 
only  25s.     Sir  .Robert  Peel,  in  1844,  reduced  the  rate  of  duty 
upon  "  foreign  sugars  not  produced  by  slave  labour :"  and  between 
then  arose  a  struggle,  which  lasted  for  several  years,  upon  aj^ 
question  which  is  still  agitated  by  our  West  India  colonists,  °°*sts  ££* 
who  contend  that,  having  emancipated  their  slaves,  we  ought  eigner. 
to  maintain  high  rates  of  .duties  against  sugar  produced  by 
slave  labour.     The  answer,  however,  to  this  argument  is,  that 
the  self-inflicted  punishment  of  ourselves  would  be  product- 
ive of  no  benefit  to  the  foreign  slave.     The  effect  of  a  differ-   Differen- 
ential  duty  in  favour  of  sugar  produced  by  free  labour,  would  in  favour  of 
not  hasten  slave  emancipation  in  the  Brazils,  or  in  the  colo-  ^fS.  Pby 
nies  of  Spain  ;  whilst  it  would  be  seriously  detrimental  to  Free  labour 

,         .  ,     ,  »  considered. 

our  trade  with  those  countries,  with  which,  indeed,  our  com- 
merce was  greatly  crippled,  until  we  consented  to  receive 
their  productions.  Besides,  as  we  freely  receive  tobacco, 
cotton,  rice,  diamonds,  and  other  productions  of  slave  states, 
it  is  difficult  to  conceive  why  we  should  refuse  to  receive 
sugar.  If  the  humanitarian  part  of  the  argument  is  aban- 
doned, and  if  it  is  limited  to  the  position  that  a  differential 
sugar  duty  is  only  an  act  of  justice  to  our  own  colonists, 
then  the  answer  is,  first,  that  we  paid  our  colonists  a  direct 
pecuniary  compensation  for  the  emancipation  of  their  slaves, 
and,  second,  that  if  they  are  unable  to  compete  successfully 
with  slave-producing  countries  in  the  growth  and  manufac- 
ture of  the  sugar-cane,  they  would  do  well  to  turn  their  soil 
and  industry  to  some  other  production. 

The  fact,  however,  is,  that  the  West  Indians  have  no  good  The  We»t 
ground  for  the  argument  that  they  suffer  by  their  produce  ^?sTs  ^ 
being  forced  into  competition  with  that  of  slave  countries.  TJJJ^f  *£" 
The  quantity  of  British  plantation  sugar  consumed  in  Great  tree  trade 
Britain  has  considerably  increased  from  the  time  when  the m 
duties  on  colonial  and  foreign  sugars  were  equalized ;  and 


32  ON  TAXATION.  [Sue  I. 

CHAP.  II.  the  West  Indian  planters  have  before  them  the  example  of 
the  Mauritius,  which,  by  means  of  an  improved  application 
of  labour,  improved  machinery,  the  use  of  manures,  &c.,  has 
wonderfully  increased  its  production  of  sugar  since  our  slave 
emancipation.  From  having  been  a  colony  of  comparatively 
small  account,  the  Mauritius  has  now  become  one  of  our  most 

Greasy  thriving  colonial  dependencies.     The  people,  who  have  de- 
increased  ,  *  i    '  •       i 
production  voted  themselves  with  great  energy  to  sugar  planting,  nave 

tho  UfiSau- raised   their  exportation   of   sugar  to    Great   Britain  from 
Free8   il  500,000  cwt.,  at  which  it  stood  in  1840,  to  nearly  2,500,000 
bour.         cwt.,  and  they  have  besides  made  for  themselves  a  great  trade 
with  France,  and  with  Australia,  and  the  Cape   of  Good 
Hope.     Why  the  West  Indian  planters  have  not  done  the 
same,  is  a  question  of  which   we  shall  find  the  true  answer 
in  the  very  different  spirit  with  which  they  adapted  them- 
selves to  their  altered  position  after  the  emancipation  of  their 
working  population.     But,  surely,  they  are  not  to  ask  us  to 
pay  for  this  by  enforcing  on  ourselves  a  tax,  equal  to  8s.  or 
10s.  a  cwt.  on  sugar,  which  was  about  the  difference  in  the 
price  of  the  article  before  and  after  the  duties  were  equal- 
ized.* 
Present     Since  1854  the  sugar  duties  have  been  levied  on  all  de- 

a?scssiuent         .  •.  .  ,. 

of  the  Su-scriptions  oi  sugar,  whencesoever  imported,  according  to   a 

gard     is  gcaje^  which   has   imposed  varying   rates    according  to   the 

quality  of  the  sugar.     The  rates  at  which  these  duties  ha\»e 

been  imposed  have  varied  from  time  to  time,  according  to 

according  the  exigencies  of  the  Exchequer.     They  are,  at  present — 

to  quality. 

s.    d. 

On  Refined  Sugars  or  Candy 18    4  per  cwt. 

"   White  CLiy ed,  not  refined 16    0 

"   Yellow  Muscovado    "       13  10 

"  Brown  Muscovado     •'      12    8 

"   Cane  Juice                   "       10    4 

"   Molasses                       "       5    0 

*  As  the  production  of  sugar  in  the  East  Indies  and  the  Mauritius  is  largely  in- 
creasing, and  as  we  are  now  able  to  import  sugar,  though  of  inferior  qualities, 
from  China,  Java,  and  other  free  labour  countries,  it  is  probable  that  the  difference 
in  price  would  not  be  so  great  hereafter,  were  we  to  listen  to  the  appc  als  of  the 
West  Indian  interests,  and  impose  a  differential  duty  in  ihcir  favour,  and  against 
the  sugars  of  slave  countries.  But  this  would  be  only  so  much  the  worse.  The 
rise  in  the  price  of  sugar  would  be,  probably,  insufficient  to  t-atisfy  thvir  cravings, 
whilst  our  refusal  to  take  the  produce  of  the  Brazils,  &c.,  would  cause  to  us  a  most 
serious  loss  by  the  diminution  of  our  trade. 


SEO.  I.]  CUSTOMS'  DUTIES.  33 

The  object  of  levying  the  duties  at  a  rate  increasing  with  CHAP,  n. 
the  quality  of  the  article,  has  been  to  "  protect"  our  own    SUGAK. 
sugar  refiners.     But  this  policy  appears  to  be  very  doubtful,  itsdoubt- 
Whilst  our  sugar  refiners  may  be  benefited  at  home,  the  re-fulpolicy' 
suit  must  be  to  prevent  improvement  in  the  sugar  manu- 
facture in   the   colonies.*     Great   complaints  have  already 
reached  this  country  from  the  Mauritius,  that  this  scale  of 
duty  is  prejudicial  to  the  manufacture  of  good  sugar,  and 
obliges  the  exporters  in  that  colony  to  send  all  their  best 
sugars  to  France  and  Australia,  and  their  worst  to  the  mar- 
kets of  Great  Britain.     It  is  complained  that  the  duty  being 
dependent  on  the  colour  of  sugar,  "  yellow,  white,  or  brown," 
and  left  to  the  arbitration  of  a  Custom-house  officer,  must 
lead  to  uncertainty,  error,  doubt,  and  contradiction.     What  The  duty 
is  of  one  colour  in  cloudy  weather,  may  be  of  another  colour  on.      sun- 
in  sunshine;  so  that,  besides  that  opening  to  fraud  which 
such  distinctions  present,  the  importer  can  have  no  absolute  t 
certainty  as  to  the  rate  at  which  he  will  be  charged.     There 
appears  to  be  great  force  in  these  objections,  and  they  seem 
to  be  supported  by  the  fact,  that  the  larger  proportion  of  the 
sugar  we  import  comes  under  the  class  of  "  Brown  Musco- 
vado,"  and  consequently  pays  only  the  smallest  duty  assessed 
on  sugar,  f 

If  we  have  indirect  taxation  at  all,  sugar  is  one  of  those 
articles  on  which  a  duty  may  fairly  be  imposed.  It  can 
scarcely  be  called  a  necessity  of  human  existence,  although 


*  It  may  also  have  the  effect  of  preventing  any  attempt  on  the  part  of  our  Col- 
onists to  refine  their  own  sugars ;  which,  if  they  could  effect  it,  would  be  useful  to 
them  in  a  variety  of  ways,  especially  in  saving  a  large  proportion  of  the  cost  of 
transit  and  freight. 

t  The  Commissioners  of  Customs  state  in  their  Eeports  that  they  have  taken 
great  pains  to  provide,  at  the  Custom-house,  a  room  for  the  examination  of  sugars, 
BO  peculiarly  well  lighted  that  there  can  be  no  error  in  taking  the  sugar  duties,  in 
consequence  of  difference  of  colour  arising  from  defects  of  the  light  in  the  apart- 
ment in  which  the  examination  is  made.  But  it  seems  to  me  that  the  very  neces- 
sity of  making  such  special  provision,  proves  the  difficulty  of  levying  the  duty 
Under  this  system.  The  Commissioners  may  provide  the  best  lighted  apartment 
in  Thames-street,  but  they  cannot  provide,  in  this  climate,  against  the  effects  of 
atmosphere.  The  sunshine  of  one  day  may  be  succeeded  by  the  fog  of  the  next, 
and  may  make  all  the  difference  in  the  appearance  of  the  article  to  be  valued. 
The  very  direction  of  the  wind  will  occasion  over  or  under  value,  as  it  does,  or 
does  not,  drive  the  smoke  of  London  towards  the  Custom-house. 

3 


34  ON  TAXATION.  [Siso.  I. 


II.  its  very  'general  use  may  be  said  to  take  it  from  out  of  the 
General  class  of  luxuries.     It  is  one  of  the  articles  of  which  we  may 

considera-  T  .  .  . 

tions     re-  use  &  greater  or  less  quantity  in  proportion  to  our  means. 


duty  on  it  *8  capable  of  easy  collection,  as  the  importa- 
ties-          tion  is  in  large  quantities  from  distant  countries,  and  as  the 
article  is  too  bulky  to  admit  of  introduction  by  the  smuggler. 
It  does  not  interfere  in  any  way  with  agriculture,  trade,  or 
manufacturing  industry  ;  for,  although  it  has  been  said  that 
sugar  might  be  made,  as  in  France,  Belgium,  and  the  north 
of  Germany,  from  beet-root,  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  with 
the  limited  acreage  of  Great  Britain,  and  the  increasing  de- 
mand of  our  population  for  bread  and  meat,  we  do  better  to 
import  our  sugar  from  countries  which  enjoy  the  advantage 
of  a  tropical  sunshine,  than  to  attempt  the  growth  of  a  plant 
which,  at  the  best,  can  only  produce  an  inferior  article.* 
The  rates      It  may  admit  of  question,  whether  the  existing  rates  of 
Sugar!7  °nduty  upon  sugar  may  not  be  higher  than  is  desirable  either 
for  the  people  or  the  revenue.     It  is  unquestionable  that  the 
consumption  of  sugar  varies  greatly  with  its  price,  and  it  has 
been  averred  that  the  poor  consume  a  larger  proportionate 
•  quantity  of  sugar  than  the  rich.     This  may,  perhaps,  in  some 
degree,  be  accounted  for  by  their  use  of  inferior  qualities  of 
raw  sugar,  which  are  more  liable  to  adulteration  than  the 
refined  lump  sugar  used  by  the  higher  and  middling  classes. 
If  this  is  the  case,  it  would  follow  that  a  reduction  of  duty 
would  be  succeeded  by  increased  consumption  ;  and  that,  if 
a  distinction  was  not  maintained  according  to  quality,  the 
more  general  use  of  a  better  quality  of  sugar  would  lead  to 
an  increased  revenue  in  consequence  of  the  diminution  of 
adulteration.     These  are  considerations,  however,  which  in- 
volve too  many  points  of  detail  to  come  within  the  scope  of 
the  present  argument. 

I  can  never  feel  too  grateful  that  the  favour  of  a  great  me- 


*  Very  few  attempts  have  been  made  to  extract  sugar  from  beet-root  grown  in 
this  country  ;  but  an  attempt  has  been  made  on  a  large  scale  to  distil  a  spirit  from 
the  root.  The  spirit  extracted  was  chiefly  used,  I  believe,  by  French  polishers, 
and  in  kindred  trades ;  the  refuse  beet  being  converted  into  food  for  cattle.  The 
works  established  for  this  object  were  near  Farningham,  in  Kent.  I  am  not  pre- 
pared to  say  how  far  the  operation  was  successful. 


SEC.  I.J  CUSTOMS'   DUTIES.  35 

tropolitan  constituency  permitted  me  to  take  an  active  part  CHAP-  IL 
in  Parliament  in  aiding  the  treaty  with  France,  which  led  to  The  duties 
a  revision  of  the  Wine  duties.     On  every  ground  of  public 
policy  it  appears  to  me  that  this  is  ofae  of  the  great  events  of 
our  age.     For  a  century  and  a  half,  France  and  England  has          Evil 
been  commercially  opposed.     It  cannot  be  said  that  they  had  hostile  ta- 
been  commercial  rivals,  for  their  products  were  so  different 
that  the  one  could  scarcely  interfere  with  the  other. 
their  political  jealousies  and  rivalries  had  operated  upon  their 
tariffs  in  such  a  manner  as  to  cause  each  nation  to  exclude 
the  other  from  its  market.     Every  commercial  and  financial 
evil  that  can  result  from  bad  tariffs  had  been  the  consequence. 
Commerce  suffered,  the  revenue  suffered,  the  manufacturing 
and  agricultural  industry  of  either  country  suffered.     The 
French  could  not  consume  our  cottons,  our  woollens,  our 
cutlery,  or  our  coals :  we  could  not  consume  in  due  propor- 
tion their  vwines,  their  silks,  their  dairy  produce,  or  their  finer 
articles  of  manufacture,  such  as  gloves,  artificial  flowers,  straw 
plait,  and  clocks  and  watches. 

Now,  it  is  said,  in  opposition  to  the  French  Treaty,  that  all  ment^rgu" 
the  articles  we  take  from  France  are  articles  of  luxury,  which  against  the 
will  bear  a  heavy  duty.     The  answer  is,  that  the  articles  on  Treaty  an- 
which  our  customs'  duties  were  entirely  remitted  (such  as swercd- 
artificial  flowers,   toys,   lace,   &c.)   produced  very  limited 
amounts  to  the  revenue,  although  the  duties  on  them  ob- 
structed interchange ;  whilst  the  articles  on  which  our  duties 
were  reduced  (such   as  wine)  were   so  highly  taxed   as   to 
obstruct  both  revenue  and  commerce. 

Take  watches  and  clocks  for  example.  They  have  been  Clocks  and 
specially  pointed  to  as  proper  articles  for  duty.  Our  revenue  Watcl 
from  them  amounted  in  1859  to  25,193?.,  a  sum  paltry  in 
itself,  but  yet  operating  largely  to  encourage  smuggling  as 
well  as  to  preclude  trade  with  a  very  large  body  of  manu- 
facturers in  France,  Germany,  and  Switzerland.  What  was 
the  immediate  effect  of  the  repeal  of  the  duty  on  these  arti- 
cles '?  The  number  of  clocks  and  watches  imported  in  1859 
was  377,924: ;  the  number  imported  in  1860  was  497,362.  The 
probabilities  are  that,  prior  to  the  repeal,  as  many  watches 
were  introduced  in  a  contraband  form  :  and  that  whilst  the 


36  ON  TAXATION.  [Sao.  I. 


GHAP^II.  watchmakers  did  not  benefit  by  the  supposed  protection,  the 

revenue  suffered  and  illicit  trade  was  encouraged. 
"Articles     It  may  be  said  that  watches  are  articles  of  luxury.     For 

of  j?  Luxu-  ^.jie  ga-jie  o£  mv  constitnents  in  Clerkenwell,  I,  for  one,  am 
very  glad  that  the  working-man  should  be  able  to  indulge  in 
such  '  articles  of  luxury.'  I  have  known  instances  in  which 
working-men  have  suffered  by  not  being  able  to  indulge  in 
such  <  articles  of  luxury.'  More  than  one  instance  occurs  to 
me,  in  which  the  inhabitants  of  a  whole  parish  have  beeo 
inconvenienced  by  the  stoppage  of  a  church  clock,  in  con- 
sequence of  some  dispute  concerning  church-rates,  when  a 
timepiece  or  a  watch,  in  the  possession  of  the  labouring  man, 
would  have  prevented  his  being  mulcted  of  no  inconsiderable 
portion  of  his  wages  in  consequence  of  his  non-possession  of 
what  the  opponents  of  the  French  Treaty  call  this  c  article  of 
luxury.'  Besides,  the  possession  of  such  an  '  article  of  luxury' 
is  beneficial  to  trade.  Once  used,  the  article  of  luxury  be- 
comes an  article  of  necessity  ;  and  the  watchmakers'  trade 
will  obviously  improve  with  the  increased  use  of  clocks  and 
watches. 
Effects  of  To  resume  :  —  France  is  a  wine  producing  country,  and  we 

tion  of  the  can  no  more  restrict  our  trade  in  wine  with  France  without 

Wme  du-  disadvantage  to  ourselves,  than  we  can  restrict  our  trade  in 
tea  with  China  without  disadvantage  to  ourselves.  We  may 
rest  perfectly  satisfied  that  besides  the  advantage  to  com- 
merce, which  we  have  already  largely  felt  as  an  effect  of  the 
reduced  duties,  the  increased  consumption  of  French  wines 
by  our  population  will  very  speedily  restore  the  revenue, 
which  we  may  have  temporarily  sacrificed  by  the  reduction 
of  duty.  In  the  very  first  years  after  the  reduction  of  the 
wine-duties,  the  importation  of  French  wiue  rose  in  the  fol- 
lowing proportions  :  — 

FBENCII  WINE  IMFOBTED. 

Tear,                                                    Gallons.  Value. 

1858  ...........................     623,041  ..  £383,100 

1859  ...........................  1,010,888  ..  559,304 

1860  ...........................  2,445,157  ..  1,036,620 

And  the  Commissioners  of  Customs  tell  us  that  the  total  con- 


SEC.  I.]  CUSTOMS'  DUTIES.  37 

* 

sumption  of  wine  "  increased  from  7,358,189  gallons  in  1860,  CHAP.  n. 
"  to  10,787,171  gallons  in  1861,  in  consequence  of  the  reduc- 
"  tion  of  the  rates  of  duty."     Under  such  circumstances,  the 
speedy  recovery  of  the  revenue  is  not  doubtful. 

It  has  been  said  with  regard  to  the  French  Treaty,  that          The 
the  French  obtained  the  best  of  the  bargain,  and  that  we  Treaty 
sacrificed  more  than  we  obtained  in  return.     This  is  by  no 
means  established  by  the  facts.     Our  exports  to  and  imports 
from  France  in   1860   and  1861  respectively,  were  as  fo 
low  : — 

Year.  Exports  of  British  Goods  to  France.*       Imports  from  France. 

1860 £5,249,980         . .        £13,917,808 

1861 8,896,282         ..  16,650,709 


Increase,  ............  £3,646,302        .  .          £2,732,901 

The  increase  was,  therefore,  largely  in  our  own  favour, 
instead  of  being  in  favour  of  the  foreigner,  as  the  party 
opposed  to  the  Treaty  would  have  had  us  believe  it  sure  to 
prove.  The  Commissioners  of  Customs  tell  us  in  their  last 
Report,  that  — 

"  The  export  of  woollens,  linens,  and  of  iron  and  metal 


"  manufactures  have  increased   200  per  cent.,  and  that  of  Commis- 

"  cotton  goods,  250  per  cent.     This  vast  advance  appears  the  Customs 

"  more  wonderful  from  the  fact  that,  with  the  exception  of  French.  i  l 

"  iron,  &c.,  the  new  French  tariff  did  not  come  into  opera-  Treaty- 

"  tion  till  late  in  1861  ;  the  tariff  for  yarns  and  tissues  of  flax, 

"  hemp,  and  jute,  only  taking  effect  on  the  1st  June  in  that 

"  year,  and  that  for   chemical  products,  and  dye  stuffs,  for 

"  glass  and  crystal  ware,  earthenware  and  pottery,  all  in- 

"  -eluded  in  the    unenumerated   articles,   only  on  the  1st 

"  November.     The  growth,  therefore,  in  the  export  of  these 

"  articles  can  only  be  considered  to  be  as  yet  in  its  infancy, 

"  and  we  have  no  doubt  that  the  effect  of  these  last  tariffs 

"  will  be  much  more  prominently  displayed  in  the  course  of 

"  the  year  1862.     In  the  meantime  it  is  already  clear  that  our 


*  This  does  not  include  Colonial  produce,  &c.,  exported  from  Great  Britain  to 
France,  the  value  of  which  exceeded  7,000,000?.  in  1860. 


38  ON  TAXATION.  [Sue.  I. 

• 

CHAP.  II.  «  accounts  of  exports  would  have  been  placed  in  a  much 

The  "  more  disadvantageous  position  but  for  the  opportune  de- 

with  ^       "  velopment   of  our   commerce   with   France,  through  the 

1  ranee.      a  extensive  modifications  in  the  French  tariff  effected  by  the 

"  Commercial  Treaty." 

Probable  All  honour,  then,  to  Mr.  Cobden,  and  those  who  acted  with 
sequences  him,  in  bringing  about  these  great  commercial  and  inter- 
great  as  national  benefits.  The  consequences,  it  may  be  hoped,  will 
Treaty.  extend  far  into  futurity.  Nothing  is  so  desirable  for  the 
happiness  of  the  world,  as  intercourse,  harmony,  and  amity 
between  France  and  England.  Of  all  the  documents  ever 
subscribed  by  sovereigns  and  diplomatists,  there  have  been 
few  to  which  the  world  may  look  with  larger  expectations  of 
hopeful  results  than  to  this  treaty  of  interchange  and  inter- 
What  we  course  with  France.  And  when  we  offer  thanks  for  it  to  our 
statesmen6  negotiators,  let  us  not  neglect  to  do  justice  to  those  who  met 
of  France.  USj  on  the  part  of  France,  with  equal  feelings  of  liberality, 
enlightenment  and  goodwill.  They  had  greater  difficulties 
to  contend  with  than  many  amongst  us  may  imagine.  Eng- 
land has  adopted,  has  extended,  and  has  felt  the  good  effects 
of  a  system  of  free  trade ;  but  the  bulk  of  the  French  people 
are  still,  from  force  of  habit,  Protectionists.  Their  eyes  are 
only  just  opening  to  the  national  benefits  which  must  result 
from  good  tariffs  and  the  commercial  interchanges  which 
follow  their  adoption.  It  would  not  become  me  to  say  how 
much  is  due  to  the  Emperor  of  the  French,  whose  enlightened 
and  advanced  views  are  so  often  misrepresented  and  mis- 
understood ;  but  I  cannot  resist  in  this  place  pointing  out  to 
th"e  British  nation  how  much  they  owe,  not  only  to  the  wis- 
dom of  that  Sovereign  in  initiating  the  treaty,  but  to  the 
enlightened  and  liberal  zeal  of  his  ministers  who  advanced  it, 
and  especially  to  Monsieur  Kouher,  the  French  Minister  of 
"  Commerce,  Agriculture,  and  Public  Works,"  and  Monsieur 
Fould,  the  Minister  of  Finance,  to  whose  co-operation  with 
Mr.  Cobden,  England  owes  all  the  advantages  which  she  is 
deriving,  and  which  she  will  derive,  from  this  great  measure 
for  furthering  commercial  intercourse. 

Having  said  so  much  upon  the  main  principles  and  items 


SEC.  I.]  CUSTOMS'  DUTIES.  39 

of  our  customs'  duties,  little  space  remains  for  the  considera-  CHAP.  n. 
tion  of  other  details.     It  is  necessary,  however,  to  add  a  few 
observations  respecting  a  class  of  duties  now,  happily,  alto- 
gether repealed.     I  refer  to   duties  upon   exports,  which, 
under  all  circumstances,  are,  I  believe,  erroneous  in  principle, 
and  injurious  in  operation.     A  great  deal  of  bad  political       Duties 
economy  has  recently  been  employed  to  show  that  there  may  ports. 
be  circumstances  under  which  duties  on  articles  of  exporta7 
tion  operate  advantageously  to  the  exporting  nation ;  and  the 
article  of  Coal  has  been  especially  referred  to,  to  enforce  the 
argument.     It  does  not,  however,  admit  of  doubt  that  we     Coal, 
have  done  right  in  removing  our  export  duty  upon  coal,  and 
that  we  should  be  very  unwise  to  attempt  to  reimpose  it. 
Prior  to  1842,  a  duty  was  levied  upon  coal  exported  in  for- 
eign vessels.     In  that  year,  Sir  Robert  Peel,  with  a  view  to 
raise  revenue,  imposed  a  duty  on  coal  howsoever  exported. 
After  three  years'  trial,  however,  he  abandoned  the  impost. 
It  had  had  the  effect,  he  said,  of  rapidly  checking  the  foreign 
coal  trade.     The  revenue  raised  under  the  duty  was  compara- 
tively insignificant ;  and  the  tax  had  operated  to  reduce  the  Disadvan- 
profits  of  the  British  coal  shipper,  and  to  lead  to  increasing  gXs°  of  ran 
activity  in   working  mines   for   coal  in   foreign   countries.  ExP°rt  du- 
Under  this  duty,  in  fact,  our  trade  in  coal  with  France  passed 
into  other  hands,  and  to  a  great  extent  we  have  never  re- 
covered it.     Not  only  did  France  develope  coal  mines   of 
her  own,  but  she  directed  her  energies  to  obtain  supplies 
from  other  quarters,  and  especially  to  develope  the  vast  coal- 
field of  Belgium,  situated  on  her  frontier.     The  consequence 
was,  that  in  1858  the  French  consumption  of  coal  was  made 
up  as  follows : — 

Coal,  the  produce  of  France 7,340,000  tons. 

"  "  Belgium 3,089,400    " 

"  "  England 1,146,800    " 

"  "  Prussia...., 1,027,800    " 

"  "  Other  Countries 3,400    " 

Used  by  the  Marine 165,000    " 

12,772,400  tons. 

• 

Thus  England,  which  can  supply  the  largest  quantity  of 


40  ON  TAXATION.  [Sue.  I. 


I.  coa]?  under  the  most  facile  circumstances  for  exportation— 
and  at  the  cheapest  price  —  instead  of  regulating  the  French 
market,  was  reduced  to  the  condition  of  affording  France 
only  one-twelfth  part  of  the  coal  required  for  her  consump- 
tion. 

General     The  simple  question  which  we  should  ask  ourselves,  in 

SSP  ap-  regard  to  an  export  duty  upon  coal  as  well  as  other  articles, 

portSt°du"^s   tm's:  —  "Can   other  nations  supply  themselves    without 

ties.          resort  to  our  market  ?"     If  they  can,  it  is  quite  certain  that 

they  will  do  so,  in  the  event  of  our  raising  the  price  of  our 

supply  either  by  an  export  duty,  or  in  any  other  manner. 

In  the  case  of  France,  it  is  quite  certain  that  she  can  find 

coal,  without  resorting  to  the  British  coal-market  ;  and  that, 

as  Sir  Kqbert  Peel  very  justly  put  it,  the  only  result  of  our 

export  duty  was  to  force  her  to  open  coal  mines  for  herself, 

and  to  develope  those  of  other  nations. 

If  we  desire  to  keep  in  our  hands  the  monopoly  of  the 
coal  supply,  and  all  the  advantages  which  it  involves  in  deal- 
ing with  other  nations,  it  is  quite  evident  that  our  best 
policy  is  to  sell  cheap.  If  we  refuse  to  sell,  except  on  terms 
which  amount  practically  to  a  prohibition,  we  drive  pur- 
chasers to  find  other  sources  of  supply,  or  to  discover  substi- 
tutes. All  this  operates  unfavourably,  not  only  on  our  own 
trade,  but  on  all  who  are  engaged  in  it.  And  hence  it  is 
more  to  our  advantage  to  export  our  commodities  without 
levying  duties  on  them,  than  to  use  such  duties  as  a  means  of 
producing  a  revenue,  the  effect  of  which  is  to  impede  the 
commerce  of  the  nation,  and  consequently  to  diminish  the 
prosperity  of  the  community. 


CHAPTER  III. 

PROPERTY  AND   INCOME   TAX. 

WHEN,  on  the  llth  March,  1842,  Sir  Robert  Peel  proposed  CHAP.HI. 
a  tax  on  Property  and  Income,  he  proposed  it  as  a  tempo-  sir  Robert 

,,4  ,.  '        !•      •,    j  «    #       J.T.  Peel's  Pro- 

rary  measure,   "for  a  tune  to  be  limited,     for  the  purpose perty  and 
" of  remedying  the  mighty  and  growing  evil  of  deficient;^0™0 
"  revenue."    He  estimated  that,  at  td.  in  the  pound  on  in- 
comes of  150Z.  and  upwards,  the  tax  would  produce  3,771,OOOZ. 
a  year. 

The  tax  has  now  lasted  twenty  years  ;  and,  in  1861,  at  the 
rate  of  9d.  in  the  pound  on  incomes  of  1601.  a  year  and  up- 
wards, and  at  6d.  in  the  pound  on  incomes  between  1001. 
and  150Z.  a  year,  the -amount  of  duty  charged  was  11,627,231^. 
Since  1842,  the  total  amount  levied  by  this  tax  has  exceeded 
ONE  HUNDRED  AND  SIXTY  MILLIONS  OF  MONEY  ! 

Now,  it  may  be  worth  while  to  inquire  into  the  operation 
and  working  of  this  tax. 

First — as  to  the  character  of  the  impost.  It  was  never  adopted  a.s 
contemplated  by  Sir  Robert  Peel  'that  this  tax  should  last.  raryte<Spe- 
He  adopted  the  machinery  and  schedules  which  were  in  ex-  * 
istence  when  the  tax  was  repealed  in  1816,  avowing  that  he 
knew  them  to  be  crude,  faulty,  and  replete  with  injustice ; 
but  as  the  tax  was  to  be  of  a  temporary  character,  it  was 
not  worth  while  devising  new  machinery  for  its  collection. 
Throughout  the  debates  upon  the  income-tax,  Sir  Robert 
Peel  at  no  time  defended  or  expressed  approval  of  it  as  a 
means  of  permanent  taxation.  He  declared  that  it  was  an 
"  unpopular  and  obnoxious  tax ;"  that  "  it  was  a  tax  that 
"  ought  to  be  reserved  for  time  of  war  ;"  that  "  nothing  but 
"  a  political  necessity  of  magnitude  and  emergency  would 
"justify  its  imposition;"  that  "it  ought  not  to  be  imposed 
"  without  being  accompanied  by  measures  of  simultaneous 
"  relief."  He  "  did  not  deny  that  it  was  an  inquisitorial 
"  tax."  He  "  did  not  deny  that  it  bore  hardly  on  incomes ;" 


42  ON  TAXATION.  [SEc.  I. 

CHAP.  m.  he  admitted  that  "  it  would  fall  with  peculiar  severity  on 
"  those  who  are  determined  to  act  honestly  ;"  that  "a  good 
"  deal  of  inconvenience  must  arise  from  the  inquiries  that 
"  must  be  instituted  into  properties ;"  and  "  that  inquisito- 
"  rial  scrutiny  was  inseparable  from  the  tax."  Entertaining 
these  sentiments  respecting  the  impost,  it  is  unquestionable 
that  had  he  intended  it  to  bear  a  permanent  character,  Sir 
Robert  Peel  would  have  striven  to  find  for  it  a  basis  consist- 
ent with  the  solid  interests  of  the  country-;— to  remove  its 
irregularities,  and  make  it  of  popular  application, 
but  used  to  Unfortunately  the  existence  of  the  income-tax  in  a  time  of 
mSentPde-  peace  and  prosperity  has  afforded  a  fatal  facility  to  financiers 
ficiencies.  Of  sllppiying  deficiencies  without  the  smallest  effort  to  im- 
prove taxation.  Let  what  might  occur — a  war  with  Russia 
— a  mutiny  in  India — an  expedition  to  China — "  a  Kaffir 
"  war" — national  defences  —  extravagant  expenditure  —  all 
have  been  met  by  the  simple  expedient  of  adding  to  the  in- 
come-tax. The  tax,  in  its  present  form,  is,  in  fact,  the  ready 
engine  for  a  lavish  expenditure. 

Aitem-  From  1842  up  to  1852,  although  the  income-tax  was  from 
™tax?  time  to  time  renewed,  it  was  always  renewed  for  limited 
periods,  and  at  the  same  rate  of  Id.  in  the  pound.  From 
1853  to  1863  it  has,  however,  been  subjected  to  annual  fluc- 
tuations. The  first  alteration  was  in  1853,  when  Mr.  Glad- 
stone extended  the  tax,  af  the  rate  of  5d.  in  the  pound,  to 
incomes  of  100Z.  and  less  than  150Z.  a  year ;  a  measure  which, 
though  right  in  principle,  has  been  objected  to  as  of  doubtful 
policy  and  of  doubtful  advantage  to  the  revenue.  At  the 
same  time  the  tax  was  extended  to  Ireland.  These  various 
alterations,  however,  will  be  better  exhibited  in  a  table  : — 


INCOME-TAX    ASSESSMENTS. 

1842-1852     ..     7d.  in  the  £  on  Incomes  of  £150  and  upwards  (Great  Britain.) 

1853  ..     Id.  "  "  "  " 

5d.  "  "  £100  to  £150.    Tax  extended  to  Ireland. 

1854  . .  The  Tax  doubled  for  War  purposes :  1*.  2d.  and  lOd. 

1855  . .  Is.  U.  in  the  £,  and  ll%d. 

1856  . .  The  same. 

1857  . .  Tax  reduced  to  7d.  and  5d.  from  5th  April. 

1858  . .  All  Incomes  from  £100,  5d.  in  the  £. 

1859  . .  Tax  raised  to  9rf.  and  6%d.  in  the  £. 

1860  . .  lOd.  in  the  £  on  Incomes  above  £150,  and  7rf.  on  Incomes  from 

£100  to  £150,  from  5th  April. 

1861  ,     9d.  and  6d. 


SEC.  I.]  PEOPEETY  AND  INCOME  TAX.  43 

This  will  show  that  we  have,  year  after  year,  been  adjust-  CHAP.  in. 
ing  the  income-tax  according  to  our  expenditure,  instead  of 
adopting  our  expenditure  to  our  means.     A  worse  system  of 
finance  it  would  be  impossible  to  imagine. 

Mr.  Gladstone,  when  he  proposed  the  first  alteration  of  this  Mr.  Glad- 
tax  in  1853,  based  his  proposal  on  a  comprehensive  scheme,  terSionain 
by  which  the  tax  was  to  be  continued  in  existence  for  a  period1853' 
of  seven  years,  and  then,  in  1860,  to  be  absolutely  and  finally 
abolished.     His  plan  was  to  take  the  tax  at  *ld.  in  the  pound 
during  the  first  year  ;  then  to  reduce  it  to  6d.  for  two  years  ; 
and  then  again  to  5d.  in  the  pound  until  the  expiration  of 
the  tax  on  the  5th  April,  1  860,  when  the  falling  in  of  the 
long  annuities,  ceasing  at  that  date,  would  -compensate  for 
the  loss  of  revenue  incurred  by  the  remission  of  the  income- 
tax.     This  proposal  was  accepted  by  Parliament,  but  the  na- 
tion never  obtained  the  advantage  of  it.     On  the  breaking    The  Tax 
out  of  the  war  in  the  year  following,  the  tax  was  at  once  f0°ruble  war 
doubled  for  war  purposes;   and  during  the  two   following  f^0808' 
years  it  was  assessed'  at  the  highest  point  that  the  tax-payers 
probably  could  bear.     What  must  have  been  the  effect  of  a 
tax  of  11J<$.  in  the  pound  upon  those  poor  people  whose  in- 
comes of  a  bare  100Z.  a  year  were  now  brought  into  assess- 
ment, I  shudder  to  think  of  !     I  can  well  understand  the 
complaint  of  the  Commissioners  of  Inland  Revenue  in  their 
second  report,  of  the  numerous  claims  (about  250,000  annu- 
ally) that  came  before  them  for  exemption  from  duty  or  re- 
payment thereof,  and  "  of  the  painful  appeals  that  are  made 
"  to  their  compassion  and  forbearance."    To  call  upon  a  man 
earning  less  than  two  pounds  a  week,  and  possibly  having  to 
maintain  a  wife  and  children,  to  pay  a  sum  of  nearly  five 
pounds  towards  the  income-tax,  must,  indeed,  have  been 
often  harrowing  even  to  the  tax-collector. 


Whilst  the  war  with  Russia  lasted,  the  people  of  Great    ^^-  c- 
Britain  bore  the  burden  of  this  tax  with  a  fortitude  beyond  tempt  to 
all  sufficient  praise.     It  is  to  the  shame  of  the  Government  th^Tax  at 
of  the  day,  and  of  their  then  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,          War 
(Sir  G.  C.  Lewis,)  that  the  fact  is  recalled  to  mind  that  they 
claimed,  on  a  miserable  pretext,  to  levy  this  war  taxation  for 


44:  ON  TAXATION.  [Sao.  I. 

CHAP.  in.  nearly  two  years  after  the  war  had  terminated.*     Happily 
Eeduc-  the  country  refused  to  submit  to  this  imposition,  and  from 

turns,  1857- the   6th  Apri]^  185/^  ^  rateg  of  duty  were   rec[llce(l  to   tne 

rates  of  1853,  antecedent  to  the  war.     In  1858,  Mr.  D'Israeli 

allowed  the  income-tax  to  fall  to  5d.,  as  provided  by  the  Act 

increase  of  1853 ;  but,  in  1859,  the  present  Government  again  raised 

i859-oo-6i!  the  duty  to  provide  for  an  increased  military  expenditure, 

which  has  been  maintained  until  the  present  time. 

Such  is  the  history  of  Sir  Robert  Peel's  income-tax;  a 
tax  certainly  never  intended  to  be  continued  in  its  present 
form ;  never  intended  to  be  tampered  with  for  purposes  of 
revenue ;  never  intended  to  be  applied  to  the  struggling 
part  of  the  community  ;  and,  above  all,  never  intended  to  be 
made  a  means  of  effecting  extravagant  expenditure.  Now 
let  us  inquire, 
Operation  In  the  second  place,  what  has  been  the  operation  of  this 

of  the  tax. 

tax? 

Kevenue     Unlike  the  revenue  derived  from  the  customs  and  excise 
ftSm  it.     duties,  the  revenue  derived  from  the  income-tax  has  not  risen 
in  proportion  to  the  increasing  wealth  of  the  community. 

The  amounts  received  into  the  Exchequer  from  the  in- 
come-tax in  the  different  years  between  1842  and  1852,  were 
as  follow : — 

From  1842        1842 £582,656 

to  1852.  1843 5,436,365 

1844 5,191,597 

1845 5,026,570 

1846 5,395,391 

1847 5,450,800 

1848 5,347,365 

1849 5,408,160 

1850 5,383,037 

1851 5,304,923 

1852 5,509,637  ' 

The  interval  between  1842  and  1852  was,  perhaps,  on  the 


*  The  Income-tax  on  the  War'Assessment  was  enacted  in  1854,  to  continue  "  dur- 
"  ing  the  present  war,  and  until  the  6th  day  of  April  which  shall  first  happen  after 
"  the  expiration  of  one  year  from  the  ratification  of  a  definitive  treaty  of  peace." 
The  war  was  brought  to  a  close  by  a  treaty  signed  on  the  30th  March,  1856,  but 
"the  exchange  of  the  ratifications,"  having  been  postponed  until  the  27th  April, 
1856,  it  was  sought  to  continue  the  war  taxation  until  5th  April,  1858. 


SEC.  I.]  PBOPEETY  AND  INCOME  TAX,  45 

whole,  the  most  prosperous  decennial  period  ever  known  in  CHAP.  ill. 
the  history  of  the  realm.  The  export  trade  of  the  United  , 
Kingdom  alone  had  in  creased  from  52,000,0002.  to  78,000,0002. 
Our  railway  system  had  made  great  progress  ;  land  had  con- 
siderably increased  in  value,  and  houses  in  number.  There 
had  been  an  immense  addition  to  our  manufacturing  indus- 
try ;  an  immense  development  of  our  mineral  wealth  ;  the 
tonnage  of  our  shipping  had  doubled  ;  our  population  had 
increased  several  millions,  and  in  every  element  of  material 
wealth  they  had  exhibited  marked  prosperity  ;  and  yet, 
throughout  these  years,  we  find  the  revenue  derived  from  pro- 
perty and  income  all  but  stationary.  What  was  the  cause 
of  this  ?  What  could  it  be  but  the  impossibility  of  assessing 
the  tax  ? 

From  1853  to  1862  the  rates  of  duties  were  so  various,  From  1852 
and  the  accounts  are  so  much  varied  by  the  extension  of  the 
tax  to  Ireland,  and  to  smaller  incomes,  that  it  is  impossible, 
without  elaborate  calculations,  to  show  what  the  income-tax 
ought  to  have  produced  in  contradistinction  to  what  it  dicf 
produce.  But  one  fact  is  certain,  that  it  almost  always  pro- 
duced less  than  it  was  estimated  to  produce  ;  and  it  cer- 
tainly always  produced  less  than  it  ought  to  have  produced, 
looking  to  the  value  of  the  property  and  income  of  the 
country.  According  to  the  most  recent  returns,  the  whole 
assessed  property  and  income  of  the  United  Kingdom  is  only 
about  300,000,0002.,  although  the  cultivated  land  of  the  Amount 
country  alone  amounts  to  more  than  35,000,000  acres,  and  ^Ta^10 
although  it  is  estimated  that  the  property  of  the  country 
insurable  against  fire  exceeds  2,000,000,0002.  But  mark  the 
figures.  The  following  official  account  of  the  Inland  Revenue 
Commissioners  shows  the  amount  of  property  and  income 
charged  under  each  schedule  of  the  income-tax,  for  the  years 
ending  5th  April,  1860  and  1861  :  —  iseo-ei. 


AMOUNT  ASSESSED. 


SCHEDULES.                                                           1860.  1861. 

A.  Lands  and  Hereditaments, £128,758,283  ..  £131,680,497 

B.  Houses  and  Tenements 32,921,100  ..  33,128,296 

C.  Funds  and  Securities 29,701,283  . .  27,480,840 

D.  Incomes  from  Trades,  Professions,  &c....       89,001,012  ..  89,605,522 

E.  Salaries,  Pensions,  &c.,.. 19,396,397  ..  19,450,712 

£299.778,075  . .  £301,345,867 


46  ON  TAXATION.  [SBC.  I. 


II.      The  whole  property  and  income  of  the  country  does  not 
Trifling  appear,  from  this  return,  to  have  risen  during  the  year  to  the 

increase  in  «  .,,.  ,  .    r    . 

the  annual  extent  of  even  a  million  and  a  hall  upon  three  hundred  mil- 
brought  tolions  !*  Who  can  foil  to  see  that  the  whole  estimate  is  fal- 
charge,  lacious  ?  If  proof  of  it  is  wanted,  contrast  this  account  with 
w°ithrasttehdetlie  account  of  assessments  in  1813  and  1814,  when  the 
increase  of  country,  at  the  close  of  an  exhausting  war,  was  in  a  state  of 

property       ,  /' 

assessed     deep  depression. 

1813-14. 

VALUE  OF  PBOPEETY,  &o.,  ASSESSED  TO  THB  INCOME  TAX. 

SCHEDULES.  1813-14.  1814-15. 

A  ............................................  £56,701,923  ..  £60,138,330 

B  ......................................  .  .....  36,336,883  ..  38,396,144 

C.  (estimated  at)  .............................  30,000,000  .  .  30,000,000 

D  ............................................  36,080,167  ..  38,310,935 

E  ............................................  11,380,748  ..  11,744,557 

£170,499,721         .  .       £178,589,966 

Here  there  was  an  increase  on  the  year  of  upwards  of  eight 
millions  upon  170,000,000^.  ;  and  it  will  be  observed  that  the 
amount  under  two  of  the  schedules,  B  and  C,  was  absolutely 
larger  in  1814  than  in  1861  !  It  was  on  the  basis  of  this 
return,  that  Sir  Robert  Peel  estimated  the"  probable  values 
of  property  that  would  be  assessed  to  the  income-tax  in  1842, 
and  he  actually  at  that  time  estimated  higher  amounts  under 
those  schedules  than  the  assessment  of  1862  ? 
Sched-  But  if  the  assessments  under  schedules  A,  B,  and  C,  are 
inadequate,  what  shall  we  say  of  that  under  schedule  D  ?  It 
is  abundantly  certain  that  schedule  D,  which  includes  all  the 
profits  of  manufactures,  trades,  and  professions,  ought  to 
yield  as  much  as  schedule  A,  if  not  more  ;  and  yet  it  yields 
less  than  two-thirds  of  the  amount.  But  the  fact  is,  that 
schedule  D  never  has  been,  and  never  can  be,  assessed,  and 
the  Government  know  it.  There  are  thousands  upon  thou- 
sands who  ought  to  contribute,  who  escape  this  schedule 
altogether  ;  and  there  are  comparatively  few  who  pay  upon 


*  The  increase  under  Schedule  A.  arises  almost  entirely  "  from  the  creation  and 
progress  of  railway  property,"  and  the  development  of  mines  ;  and  it  will  be  ob- 
served that  the  increase  under  that  schedule  is  the  only  increase  of  any  amount. 


SEO.  I.J 


PROPERTY  AND  INCOME  TAX. 


47 


the  full  amount  of  income  to  which  they  are  liable.     That  CHAP,  ill, 
this  is  so,  is  conclusively  proved  by  the  following  return, 
which  shows  the  number  of  persons  charged  to  the  income- 
tax,  under  schedule  D,  for  the  year  1856. 


Under  £10C 
£100  and  ui 
150 
200 
300 
400 
500 
600 
700 
800 
900 
1,000 
2,000 
3,000 
4,000 
5,000 
10,000 
50,000  and  u 

CLASSES.                                             T 
1 

a  year  

INCOME  ON                NO.  OB1 
FHICH  DUTT             PERSONS 
3  CHARGED.              IN  EACH 
CLASS. 

£1,319,069     ...       20,916 
11,761,920     ..     118,793 
6,364,928     .  .       40,390 
7,224,966     .  .       32,511 
4,772,654     .  .       14,948 
3,013,131     .  .         7,173 
2,785,583     .  .         5,414 
1,899,610     ..         3,061 
1,453,681     .  .         2,003 
1,393,991     ..         1,703 
752,406     .  .            804 
6,798,676     ..        5,271 
3,488,180     .  .         1,503 
2,576,320     .  .            781 
1,942,048     ..            434 
5,251,125     ..            701 
8,213,536     .  .            445 
3,539,312     .  .              40 

AMOUNT  or      Taxation 
TAX        under 

CHARGED     pC 
ON  EACH 

CLASS. 

.  .       £63,205 
634,632 
424,329 
481,665 
318,177 
200,877 
.  .       185,705 
126,641 
96,913 
92,933 
50,161 
453,245 
232,548 
.  .       171,749 
129,468 
350,074 
547,568 
..  '      23,954 

ader  £150 

'          200  

'           300 

400      

500  

600  .. 

700  

800 

*           900  

*        1,000  

'        2,000        

'        3,000  

<        4,000    

'        5,000....'.  

'      10  000 

'      50,000  
p  wards 

Total* £74,150,136     ..     256,891     ..£4,683,744 

It  will  be  seen  from  this  return  that  of  256,891  persons 
assessed  under  this  schedule,  no  fewer  than  212,610  wTere  number  of 
charged  upon  incomes  of  less  thaa  3001.  year !     According  to  sessecT  "at 
this  account,  less  than  50,000  persons  in  the  country  derive  j^dTigher 
more  than  3001.  a  year  from  all  the  commerce,  trade,  and  pro- incomes- 
fessional  practice  of  the  United  Kingdom  !     It  would  seem 
that  only  3,904  people  have  more  than  2,OOOZ.  a  year  from 
income !     London  itself  ought  to  supply  fully  that  number 
who  are  reasonably  supposed  to  have   double  the  income. 
But  the  fact  is,  that  almost  every  one  who  finds  himself  com- 
pelled to  pay  the  tax,  endeavours  to  be  assessed  at  the  lowest 


*  A  more  recent  return,  obtained  by  Mr.  Moffatt,  in  1861,  distinguishes  the  num- 
ber of  persons  assessed  under  Schedue  D  in  Ireland.  The  number  is  only  17,457, 
of  which  14,218  are  assessed  at  less  than  300Z.,  and  9,238,  or  more  than  half,  at  less 
than  1502.  There  are  only  519  assessed  at  more  than  10,000?. 


48  °N  TAXATION,  [Sac,  I, 


scale  of  duty.     We  find  from  this  return,  that  nearly  140,000 
of  these  256,000  tax-payers,  or  more  than  one-half,  «are  rated, 
at  'the  low  rate  of  duty,  for  incomes  under  150?.  per  annum. 
The  And  this  shows  the  dubious  policy  of  the  alteration  of  the  tax 
JTit  'ope?  in  1853.     Not  only  is  the  5^.  in  the  pound  on  the  small 
Small   in-  income  a  most  oppressive  tax  upon  the  poor  and  honest  man 
comes.       who  works  hard  for  his  100?.  a  year,  but  it  opens  the  door  to 
immense  fraud  on  the  part  of  those  who  have  incomes  of  from 
150?.  to  300?.  per  annum,  (and  even  more,)  which  they  return 
at  less  than  150?.,  in  order  to  get  assessed  at  the  diminished 
rate  of  duty.     No  one  believes  that  of  these  256,000  tax- 
payers, 140,000  are  in  possession  of  incomes  of  less  than  150?. 
per  annum,  any  more  than  we  can  believe  that  only  8,904  of 
the  nunfber   earn  more  than   2,000?.  per  annum.      But  it 
would  obviously  be  impossible  for  the  authorities  to  hear 
appeals  upon  the  subject  of  surcharges  from  this  multitude  of 
small  payers,  and  they  are  therefore  obliged  to  take  their  own 
account  of  their  incomes.     It  is  only  worth  while  to  make 
surcharges  where  the  sum  is  large,  or  where  the  case  is  very 
flagrant,  very  generally  known,  and  very  easily  established. 
The  eva-     That  the  'Commissioners  of  Inland  Revenue  are  fully  ac- 
tisedimder  quainted  with  the  difficulties  to  which  they  are  exposed  in 
Schedule  ^  t]ie  collection  of  this  tax,  is  obvious  from  the  following  state- 
known   to  ment,  in  their  last  Report  :— 

mie  Com-  "  "YVe  think  it  our  duty  from  time  to  time  to  call  attention 
"8-  "  to  the  deficient  returns  of  profits  under  Schedule  D.  We 
have  already  reported  one  remarkable  case  of  recent  occur- 
rence, where  a  trading  firm  having  returned  '  Nil  '  as  their 
profits  for  the  year  1861-2,  the  Surveyor  induced  the  Dis- 
trict  Commissioners  to  assess  them  at  12,000?.  and  upon 
sions.  a  appeai?  obtained  a  close  confirmation  of  his  estimate,  by 
"  proof  from  their  own  books,  thr.t  the  correct  •  charge  was 
"  rather  more  than  12,000?.,  as  the  average  of  the  three  pre- 
"  ceding  years.  The  penalty  of  treble  duty  was  inflicted  by 
"  the  District  Commissioners,  and  was  paid. 

"  To  take  another  exam'ple  from  a  different  part  of  the 
"  kingdom  :  —  A.  B.  some  years  ago  returned  15,000?.  as  his 
"  assessable  income,  but  the  amount  was  raised  by  the  Com- 
"  missioners  to  20,000?.,  on  which  he  paid.  The  following 


SEO.  I.]  PROPERTY  AND  INCOME  TAX.  49 

"  year  he  made  no  return,  and  the  assessment  of  the  Com-  CHAP.  m. 
"  missioners  was  again  20,0002. ;  but  the  Surveyor  charged    Evasions 
"  him  on  45,0002.,  the  duty  on  which  was  paid  without  ap-g^heduie 
"  peal.     Again,  the  next  year  he  made  no  return,  and  again  r>- 
"  the  charge  was  raised  by  the  Surveyor,  who  assessed  him 
"  on  60,0002.,  with  the  same  result  as  in  the  former  instance. 

"  3,0002.  appear  to  be  a  favourite  amount  for  assess- 
"  ments.  We  have  before  us  two  cases  in  which  that  sum 
"  had  been  accepted  for  years  by  the  District  Commissioners 
"  as  the  chargeable  income.  In  the  one  case,  in  which  the 
"  party  was  assessed  on  his  own  return,  the  Surveyor  raised 
"  the  assessment  to  8,0002.,  and  in  the  other  to  10,0002.,  the 
"  duty  being  paid  in  both  without  question.  From  the  first 
"  case,  however,  there  has  been  additional  profit  to  the  reve- 
"  nue,  the  party  having  made  a  return  of  upwards  of  17,0002. 
"  for  the  following  year. 

"  In  one  place  the  assessment  of  a  large  trading  firm  hav- 
"  ing  been  found  greatly  inadequate,  inquiries  were  instituted 
"  as  to  the  charges  under  Schedule  D  in  the  same  neighbour- 
"  hood,  and  the  following  were  some  of  the  results : — 

1.  Returned £170    Charge  fixed  on  appeal £350     Cases  of 

2.  Returned 400    Charged  by  Surveyor  on 1,500  Evasion 

Paid  without  appeal.  b^        the 

3.  No  return,  assessed  at 660    Charge  fixed  on  appeal 1,250  Commis- 

4.  No  return,  assessed  at 730    Charged  by  Surveyor  on 1 ,000  sioners. 

Paid  without  appeal. 

5.  Returned 750    Charge  fixed  on  appeal 1,600 

6.  Returned 800    Charge  fixed  on  appeal 1,200 

7.  No  return,  assessed  at 800    Charged  by  Surveyor  on 2,000 

Paid  without  appeal. 

8.  No  return,  assessed  at 810    Charged  by  Surveyor  on 2,000 

Paid  without  appeal. 

9.  Returned  1,000    Charged  by  Surveyor  on 3,000 

Paid  without  appeal. 

10.  No  return,  assessed  at 1,500    Charge]  fixed  on  appeal 2,250 

11.  Returned 1,943    Charge  fixed  on  appeal 2,253 

12.  No  return,  assessed  at 2,000    Charged  by  Surveyor  on 3,000 

Paid  without  appeal. 

13.  Returned 2,200    Charge  fixed  on  appeal 5,000 

14.  No  return,  assessed  at 4,500    Charged  by  Surveyor  on 10,000 

Paid  without  appeal. 

15.  Returned 6,000    Charged  by  Surveyor  on 10,000 

Paid  without  appeal. 

The  result,  then,  to  which  we  arrive  is,  that  if  the  income- 

4 


50  °N  TAXATION.  [SEC.  I. 

CHAP.  in.  tax  is  to  be  treated  hereafter  as  a  source  of  permanent  reve- 

Gonciu-  nue,  or  even  if  it  is  to  be  imposed  for  a  limited  term  of  years, 

iTthe  In-  as  in  1853,  the  tax  must  be  put  upon  a  footing  which  will 


Perm^  °f  ^r  assessment,  and  which  will  make  it  properly 
a  perma-  productive  to  the  revenue  at  a  moderate  rate  of  duty.  If 
source  of  this  cannot  be  done,  the  tax  must  be  abandoned.  It  is  too 

revenue    it  .  -,  .  -,  .  ,    . 

must  be  re-  oppressive,  too  obnoxious,  too  unequal,  too  immoral  in  its 
ed'  character,  to  permit  of  its  continuance. 

Our  Chancellors  of  the  Exchequer  will  scarcely  give  up  the 
income-tax  without  a  struggle.  Let  us  proceed  to  inquire 
then,  why,  if  they  persist  in  the  tax,  they  should  not  try  to 
improve  it  ? 

Admitting  that  a  property  and  income-tax  might  not  form 

a  proper  and  an  advantageous  source  of  revenue,  it  appears 

very  remarkable,  and  a  very  great  reflection  on  the  Finan- 

ciers of  our  age,  that  no  vigorous  attempt  has  been  made  to 

Mr.  D'is-put  the  tax  upon  some  equitable  basis.     Mr.  D'Israeli,  so  far 

views    on  back  as  1851,  said  — 

this  point. 

u  I  am  making  no  objection  to  a  tax  on  property  and  in- 
"  come  ;  what  I  am  directing  the  attention  of  the  House  to 
"  is  this,  that,  if  direct  taxation  is  to  form  a  more  consider- 
"  able  portion  of  our  financial  system  for  the  future,  that  di- 
"  rect  taxation  should  ~be  founded  on  a  true  principle,  and 
"  not  upon  a  false  one"* 

Thepres-     Although  called  a  "  Property  and  Income  Tax,"  the  pres- 

tax  on^in-  ent  tax  ^  in  reality,  a  tax  on  income  only.     The  assessment 

come  only,  j£  no^  on  capital  in  any  form  ;  it  is  only  on  annual  income 

derived  from  capital.     Now,  capital  is  of  two  sorts  —  produc- 

tive and  unproductive.     But  income  arises  only  from  the 

productive  capital  ;  and,  therefore,  a  tax  upon  income  is  a 

tax  which  relates  only  to  that  portion  of  the  property  of  the 

country  which  is  actively  employed.     JSTow  it  has  been  ad- 

mitted as  a  principle  by  political  economists,  that  to  tax  only 


*  Mr.  Gladstone,  in  1858,  also  denounced  the  tax  as  open  to  great  objections  in 
its  present  form.  "One  is  a  moral  objection,"  he  said,  "for  I  believe  it  does 
more  than  any  other  tax  to  demoralize  and  corrupt  the  people." 


SEC.  I.]  PBOPEETY  AND  INCOME  TAX.  51 

that  portion  of  capital  which  is  actively  employed,  is  pecu-  CHAP,  in. 
liarly  unwise  and  unjust.     It  is  unwise,  because  capital  is  the 
means  of  employing  labour,  and  whatever  tends  to  diminish, 
its  amount  must  tend  at  the  same  time  to  diminish  the  means 
of  employment.     It  is  unjust,  because  the  property  which  is  winch  does 
unproductive  requires  as  much  protection  by  the  State  as  the  unproduc- 
property  which  is  productive,  and  the  fundamental  principlepj^y.  pl 
on  which  taxation  is  applied  is  to  afford  the  State  the  oppor- 
tunity of  providing  for  the  protection  of  property. 
Take  the  case  of  two  brothers.  A  and  B,  each  of  whom  has,       Differ- 

"  ence      be- 
Say  1,OOOZ.  a  year  more  than  he  spends.     A  treats  his  surplus  tween  pro- 

1,000£.  a  year  as  capital  to  be  made  reproductive.     He  in-  unproduc- 
vests  in  a  ship,  a  cotton  mill,  or  a  farm,  or  in  some  other  pj,ety  jj™! 
business  which  produces  income.     B  treats  his  surplus  1,OOOZ. trated- 
a  year  as  capital  to  be  laid  by,  and  invests  it  in  objects  that 
minister  to  his  own  enjoyment,  and  that  at  a  future  period, 
when  he  may  dispose  of  them,  will  bear  an  enhanced  value, 
lie  invests  it  in   purchasing  in  Italy  works  of  art   of  the 
ancient  masters— pictures  and  statuary,  gems,  antiques,  or 
other  articles  of  taste,  or  he  lays  it  out  at  home  in  adding  to 
his  park  or  pleasure-grounds,  his  conservatories,  or  flower- 
gardens  ;  or  in  some  other  manner  in  which  the  expenditure 
does  not  afford  him  income,  though  it  increases  his  enjoy- 
ment. 

Now,  whilst  the  investments  of  A  and  B,  drawn  from  the 
same  source,  are  thus  equal  in  amount,  and  both  adapted  for 
the  gratification  of  the  parties  who  invest  their  property,  accord- 
ing to  their  respective  tastes,  yet  it  will  be  obvious  that  they 
are  made  with  very  different  results.  A's  investment  affords 
employment  to  a  large  amount  of  labour,  and  consequently 
ministers  to  the  general  good ;  but  B's  investment  entails 
upon  him  very  little  annual  cost,  and  consequently  ministers 
in  a  comparatively  small  degree  to  the  public  benefit ;  except, 
it  may  be,  in  cultivating  taste.  Both  the  investments  need  Both  re- 
the  protection  of  the  State,  as  well  from  the  foreign  enemy  protection6 
as  from  the  domestic  spoiler  ;  but  both  investments  are  not 
equally  taxed.  The  property  laid  out  in  objects  which  pro- 
mote industry,  and  which  assist  in  preserving  order  by  keep^ 
ing  our  population  free  from  idleness  and  crime^  is  taxed ; 


52  ON  TAXATION.  [SEC.  I. 

CHAP.  in.  whilst  the  property  which  is  invested  in  unproductive  objects 
Both  bear  of  luxury  and  taste  remains  untaxed.  •  Yet  it  would  be  wrong 
proportion1  to  suppose  that  the  untaxed  portion  of  the  property  is  not 
creased m"  ^ea™S  &uit$  as  well  as  the  taxed  portion.  The  ship  in 
wealth  of  wnich.  A  invested  his  l.OOOZ.  brings  him  10  per  cent,  per  an- 

the  nation. 

num,  on  which  he  is  charged  annually  to  the  income-tax ; 
the  picture,  or  the  park  land  which  B  purchased,  is  rapidly 
increasing  in  value,  in  consequence  of  the  increasing  wealth 
of  the  community,  brought  about  by  the  enterprise  and  the 
use  of  the  surplus  capital  invested  by  the  A's  of  our  nation. 
But  both  Yet  A  pays  income-tax,  and  B  pays  none.     Twenty  years 
subject  to  hence,  A's  ship  or  factory  will  have  been  worn  out,  and  he 
taxation ;    w^  requj[re  to  rebuild  ;  but  B's  picture  or  park  will  be  worth 
three  or  four  times  the  price  B  gave  for  it.     And  so  whilst 
A,  who  has  contributed  to  the  prosperity  of  B,  finds  himself 
though  the  deprived  of  the  capital  on  the  income  derived  from  which 
perty  per-  he  has  been  taxed  for  twenty  years,  B,  who  has  never  con- 
ks',. the  tributed  to  the  prosperity  of  A,  finds  himself  with  three  or 
s  four  times  his  original  capital,  in  regard  to  which  he  has 
never  at  any  time  contributed  one  stiver  to  the  revenue  of 
the  State,  which  has  protected  him  in  its  possession  and  en- 
joyment. 

Such  is  the  difference  between  productive  and  unproductive 
property — and  such  are  the  anomalies  of  our  existing  system 
of  taxation. 

It  is  most  probable  that  it  was  the  intention  of  Sir  Robert 
Peel,  had  he  continued  in  office,  and  had  he  found  the  ten- 
dency of  the  public  feeling  incline  towards  direct  taxation,  to 
have  adapted  the  tax  which  he  imposed  in  1842  to  the  na- 
tional requirements  upon  the  principle  of  an  assessment  on 
Results  every  description  of  property  and  income.     In  the  event  of 
would  foi- sncn  an  assessment  being  adopted,  it  has  been  calculated  by 
low  a  real  eminent  actuaries  that  the  tax,  instead  of  being  9d.  and  Qd. 
Tax.          in  the  pound,  would  not  be  above  2s.  per  cent.     To  avoid  the 
high  rate  of  duty  now  imposed  on  incomes,  the  income-holder, 
who  can  ill  afford  to  make  the  payment,  as  a  rule,  and  it  may 
even  be  said  almost  invariably,  understates  his  income.     It  is 
extremely  doubtful  if  this  would  be  the  case  were  the  tax  a  small 
one,  the  weight  of  which  fell  upon  the  rich  possessors  of  large 


SEO.  I.]  PKOPERTY  AND  INCOME  TAX.  53 

properties.  By  apportioning  the  tax  so  that  each  man  should  CHAP.  in. 
only  be  called  upon  to  pay  what  he  could  well  afford  to  pay, 
the  temptation  to  evade  payment  would  be  removed.  How 
willingly  at  the  present  moment  do  our  population  pay  high 
rentals  for  houses  and  high  wages  to  servants — give  sumptuous 
entertainments  to  friends — contribute  both  to  the  general  and 
local  taxation  in  the  form  of.  house-tax,  assessed  taxes,  and 
poor's  rates — subscribe  to  charities — and  expend  money  in 
almost  every  form,  except  In  paying  income-tax.  "Why  is 
this  ?  Because  the  tax  is  felt  to  be  an  unfair,  an  obnoxious, 
and  a  grievous  tax ;  and  because  it  presses  on  the  struggling 
man,  who  is  compelled  to  maintain  what  are  called  "  ap- 
pearances," in  a  far  greater  degree  than  it  affects  the  wealthy 
man,  the  bulk  of  whose  property  is  scarcely  affected  by  the 
charge.  That,  then,  which  is  really  needed  to  make  this  tax 
popular  in  its  application  to  the  people  of  Great  Britain  is  its 
fair  assessment,  not  merely  on  the  income,  but  upon  the 
property  and  wealth  of  the  community. 

In  May,  1851,  Mi*.  Hume  obtained  the  appointment  of  a  Mr. 

Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  "  to  inquire  into  the  committee 
"  best  mode   of  assessing   and   collecting  the  income   and on  the  In~ 

come-tax, 

"  property  tax,  and  to  consider  whether  any  other  system  of  A.  D.  1851. 
"  levying  the  same,  so  as  to  render  the  tax  more  equitable, 
"  could  be  adopted."     The  Committee  was  not  formed  with- 
out great   difficulty;  but,  ultimately,  the   following  fifteen 
members  were  appointed  to  serve  on  it : — 

ME.  HUME  (Chairman.) 


THE  CHANCELLOR  OF  THE  EX- 
CHEQUER. 

MB.  THOMAS  BARING. 
MR.  COBDEN. 
MR.  DISRAELI. 
MR.  HORSMAN. 
MR.  HENLEY. 
MR.  FORBES  MACKENZIE. 


MR.  NEWDEGATE. 
MR.  KICARDO. 
MR.  ROEBUCK. 
COLONEL  ROMILLY. 
MR.  SOTHERON. 
LORD  HARRY  VANE. 
MR.  VESEY. 
MR.  JAMES  WILSON. 


At  a  very  early  stage  of  their  proceedings,  the  Committee 
decided,  by  a  majority  of  six  to  three,  that  "  it  was  not  within 
"  their  province  to  inquire  into  the  justice  of  imposing  an 
"  equal  tax  upon  permanent  incomes  derived  from  property 
"  and  other  descriptions  of  income." 


54:  ON  TAXATION.  [SEC.  I. 


AP^III.  They  were  unable,  however,  to  stop  the  mass  of  evidence 
The  evi-  which  did  flow  in  from  every  quarter  in  illustration  of  the 
anomalies  and  injustice  of  the  existing  mode  of  assessment. 
These  were  freely  admitted  by  the  Government  officials  them- 
selves. It  was  established  that  under  Schedule  A  there  was 
no  uniformity  of  assessment  in  any  part  of  the  country  ;  that 
under  Schedule  B  the  system  of  assessing  the  farmer's  income 
on  the  basis  of  the  amount  of  his  rental  was  a  complete 
absurdity,  inasmuch  the  rent  had  no  proportion  to  the  value 
of  the  produce  ;  that  under  Schedule  C  the  holders  of  stock  in 
perpetuity  were  assessed  at  Id.  on  every  20s.  of  interest,  whilst 
the  holders  of  terminable  annuities  were  assessed  both  on  the 
interest  and  on  a  portion  of  the  capital,  at  a  rate  equal  to  35d. 
in  the  pound  ;  and  that  under  Schedules  D  and  E  the  tax 
was  not  only  a  tax  on  profits,  but,  to  a  large  extent,  a  tax  on  a 
description  of  capital  exposed  to  various  risks  and  vicissitudes, 
and,  to  a  still  greater  extent,  a  tax  011  industry  and  skill. 
But  the  Committee  went  much  further  than  merely  to  take 
Evidence  evidence  as  to  the  inequalities  of  the  tax.  They  received 
tuaries  Ac~  from  a  body  of  actuaries,  statists,  and  political  economists, 
very  valuable  opinions  as  to  the  way  in  which  the  tax  might 
be  made  more  equitable.  Amongst  others  they  called  before 
them  Mr.  J.  II.  Williams,  Actuary  of  the  English  and  Scottish 
Law  Life  Assurance  Office  ;  Mr.  E.  E.  Scott,  Manager  and 
Actuary  of  the  East  of  Scotland  Office  ;  Mr.  Samuel  Brown, 
Actuary  of  the  Mutual  ;  Mr.  Jellicoe,  Actuary  of  the  Eagle  ; 
Mr.  Edmonds,  Actuary  of  the  Legal  and  General  ;  Mr.  Hardy, 
Actjiary  of  the  London  Assurance  Corporation  ;  Mr.  Neison  ; 
Dr.  Farr,  &c.  These  eminent  authorities  were  all  agreed 
that  the  only  fair  way  of  assessing  income  was  to  capitalize 
it  for  the  purposes  of  such  assessment,  and  nearly  all  these 
witnesses  proposed  plans  by  which  that  object  could  be  accom- 
plished. The  actuaries  demonstrated  that  industrial  incomes 
could  be  assessed  with  an  approximation  to  accuracy  suffi- 
ciently near  for  every  practicable  purpose  ;  and  they  proved 
that  tables  might  be  framed,  of  as  easy  application  as  the 
ordinary  tables  of  interest,  for  the  purpose  of  computing  what 
was  the  amount  at  which  every  man  might  be  assessed. 
This  most  important  Committee  concluded  its  inquiries  by 


SEC.  I.]  PKOPERTY  AND  INCOME  TAX.  55 

reporting  to  the  House  the  evidence  it  had  taken,  without  CHAP.  in. 

expressing  any  opinion  thereupon.     Mr.  Hume,  however,  has          Mr. 

left  on  record  a  draft  report  which  was  submitted  to  the  Com-  &£$*  8Ee_ 

mittee,  and  which  admirably  summed  up  the  conclusions  at  P°rt' 

which  he  had  himself  arrived  upon  the   evidence.      Mr. 

Hume's  peculiarly  clear  mind  was  brought  to  the  conclusion 

"  that  to  be  equitable,  this  tax  should  every  year  be  levied  ON 

"  THE  VALUE  OF  THE  PKOPERTY  (labour   and  skill  being  the 

"  property  of  large  classes)  OF  THE  COUNTRY  ;  and  that  each 

"  person  having  more  than  a  minimum  amount  of  income, 

"  should  contribute  in  proportion  to  the  share  of  that  value 

"  in  his  possession.     The  tax  would  thus  become,  in  the  strict  recom- 

"  sense  of  the  word,  a  PROPERTY  TAX,  and  each  person  would  Property  a 

"  be  taxed  in  proportion  to  his  ability ;  which  is  measured   ax' 

"  more  accurately  and  expressed  more  clearly  by  the  value  of 

"  the  property  in  his  possession,  under  the  protection  of  the 

"  State,  than  by  any  other  standard." 

Mr.  Hume  argued,  with  great  force,  that  such  a  tax  on  a  Eeasons 
man's  property  would  "be  in  every  way  more  simple  and  more  JJJ  th£ 
equitable  than  the  taxes  which  are  now  assessed  on  the 
articles  which  his  family  requires  or  consumes  :  his  expendi- 
ture on  which  bears  no  direct  relation  to  the  amount  of  his 
property  under  the  protection  of  the  State.  He  was  of 
opinion,  and  many  have  concurred  with  him,  that  the  total 
property  of  each  individual  could  be  determined,  with  suffi- 
cient accuracy  for  all  purposes  of  taxation,  with  less  trouble, 
and  less  vexatious  inquisition,  than  is  now  exercised  in  ascer- 
taining all  the  items  of  that  property — his  income,  house-rent, 
servants,  carriages,  horses,  dogs,  armorial  bearings,  and  other 
items  of  service,  down  even  to  his  hair-puff.  The  evidence 
given  before  the  Committee  established  that  in  America  this 
system  of  taxation  was  carried  on  without  difficulty.  The 
property  of  every  person  is  assessed  in  that  country  with  as 
little  difficulty,  and  with  as  much  exactitude,  as  we  assess 
rentals  for  the  purpose  of  the  house  tax. 

The  objections  which  have  been  started  to  this  system  of  Objec- 
taxation  are  three  in  number,  and,  regarding  the  importance  property  U 
of  the  principle,  they  seem  to  be  very  insufficient  in  import- 
ance.  The  first  is  an  objection  on  a  general  ground  that  the 


56  ON  TAXATION.  [SEC.  I. 

CHAP.  in.  tendency  of  a  tax  on  property  would  be  to  cause  it  to  seek 
Objec-  in  vestment  in   some  foreign  country.      To  this  it  may  be 

principle.0  replied,  first,  that  the  income-tax,  heavy  as  it  has  been  in 
some  years,  has  not  driven  persons  to  seek  investments  in  a 
foreign  country;  and,  second,  that  the  great  bulk  of  our 
property, — our  land,  mines,  railways,  canals,  docks,  ware- 
houses, shops,  and  dwellings, — are  not  removable.  The  next 
objection  is,  that  a  tax  on  unproductive  property  would  pre- 
vent its  accumulation ; — to  which  it  would  seem  to  be  an 
obvious  answer  that  the  less  capital  that  is  rendered  absolutely 
Objec-  unproductive  the  better  for  the  country.  The  third  objection 

uonsc  .e- .g  one  o£  detail,  which  rests  chiefly  on  the  authority  of  a  late 
Chief  Commissioner  of  Inland  Revenue,  who  declared  "  that, 
"  although  it  was  done  in  America,  he  was  decidedly  of 
"  opinion  that  we  should  not  get  the  returns  here."  "  The 
"  establishment  necessary  would  be  so  great,"  &c.  "  JSro 
"  possible  check  could  be  introduced,"  &c.  "  It  would,  in 
"  my  opinion,  be  quite  impracticable,"  &c.  "  We  could 
"  never  trace  the  property  of  each  individual,"  &c.  "  Or 
"  test  its  correctness,"  &c.  "  I  apprehend  it  could  never  be 
"  done,"  &c.  These  strong  expressions  of  doubt  and  diffi- 
culty it  has  been  the  fortune  of  most  of  us,  in  our  experience, 
to  have  met  with  before,  and  to  have  found  very  easy  of 
modification,  when  the  appointment  of  an  official  depended 
upon  his  carrying  into  execution  the  system  he  condemned. 
Of  all  the  various  fabrics  in  which  Gordian  knots  are  accus- 
tomed to  be  tied,  there  is  none  that  holds  together  so  tena- 
ciously, or  yet  that  is  so  easily  cut  asunder,  as — red  tape. 
Mr.  Mr.  Hume's  draft  report  concluded  in  words  which  ought 

condu-      to  live  in  our  memories,  though  it  may  be  feared  that  they 
are  almost  forgotten : — 

"  The  income-tax,  in  its  present  inequality,  cannot  be  made 
"  a  permanent  tax.  The  inquiry  establishes  the  truth  of  the 
"  public  judgment  of  its  injustice.  It  at  the  same  time  leaves 
"  no  doubt  that  a  tax  assessed  on  the  value  of  all  the  property, 
"  and  on  the  capitalized  industrial  incomes  of  the  population, 
"  would  be,  in  theory  and  in  practice,  more  equitable  than 
"  the  present  taxes.  A  tax  exclusively  on  the  rent  of  land, 
"  on  the  rent  of  houses,  on  wages,  or  any  single  class  of  pro- 


SEO.  I.]  PEOPEETY  AND  INCOME  TAX.  57 

"  perty,  as  well  as  a  general  tax  of  all  properties  in  no  con- CnAP- IIL 

"  stant  proportion  to  their  value,  depresses  prices,  and  alters 

"  exchangeable  values.     It  produces  a  depreciation  of  pro- 

"  perty,  and  is,  in  fact,  as  far  as  the  inequality  goes,  a  con- 

"  fiscation.     A  partial,  an  unequal,  or  an  uncertain  tax,  un- 

"  settles  the  security  of  property  and  paralyses  industry.     If, 

"  under  the  pretence  of  convenience  in  collection,  or  of  diffi- 

"  culty  in  assessing  the  tax  equitably,  three  per  cent,  is  taken 

"  from  the  interest  of  capital  in  one  form,  and.  fourteen  per 

"  cent,  from  the  interest  of  capital  in  another,  and  nothing 

"  at  all  from  the  interest  of  capital  in  a  third  form,  it  will 

"  diffuse  a  general  sense  of  insecurity  in  the  minds  of  all 

"persons  possessing  property,  as  no  one  can  foresee  how  far 

"  a  system  which  violates  the  principle  of  equitable  taxation 

"  may  be  carried. 

"  The  progress  of  financial,  as  well  as  other  branches  of 
"  knowledge,  has  been  great  since  the  income-tax  was  imposed 
"  by  Mr.  Pitt ;  and  Parliament,  in  imposing  taxes,  is  bound 
"  to  take  this  progress  and  the  progress  of  public  opinion 
"  into  account.  Hence  your  Committee  consider  that  what- 
"  ever  may  be  thought  of  the  revival  of  the  income-tax  in  all 
"its  old  forms  of  inequality  and  injustice  in  1842,  the  time 
"  has  come,  after  the  experience  of  ten  years,  for  making  it 
"more  equitable. 

"  That  the  assessment  and  levy  of  a  just  tax  on  property  is 
"  practicable,  and  that  such  an  approach  to  a  direct  assess- 
"  ment  can  be  made  as  would  be  more  satisfactory  to  the 
"  country  than  the  present  tax,  your  Committee  unhesitat- 
"  ingly  assert ;  and  no  trouble  or  efforts  to  render  the  system 
"  of  taxation  equitable  can  be  too  great  for  the  sake  of  justice." 

These  were  the  opinions  put  on  record  by  Mr.  Hume,  and          Mr. 
those  who  acted  with  him,  more  than  ten  years  since ;  and  f^t* 
yet,  during  that  interval,  although  wre  have  been  exposed  to  without 
the  evil  of  a  double  income-tax,  "no  trouble  has  been  taken 
"  to  render  the  system  equitable  for  the  sake  of  justice."     If 
anything  was  needed  to  establish  the  position  assumed  at  the 
outset  of  this  work,  as  to  the  little  that  had  been  done  to 
make  taxation  equitable,  since  the  death  of  Sir  Robert  Peel, 
this  fact  might  be  pointed  to  as  of  itself  a  sufficient  and  a 
forcible  confirmation  of  the  view. 


58  ON  TAXATION.  [SEC.  I. 

CHAP.  ill.      A  variety  of  plans  have,  at  different  times,  been  proposed 
Propo-  with  a  view  to  the  modification,  better  assessment,  and  better 
better  'col-  collection  of  this  tax.     It  is  scarcely  within  the  design  of  this 
assessment wor^  to  enter  into  details ;  but  two  proposals  may  be  ad- 
of  the  Tax.  yerted  to,  which  seem  to  contain  the  germ  of  modifications 
that  might  be  considered  with  advantage.     The  one  is  to 
make  the  banking  interest  of  the  country  agents  for  the  col- 
lection of  the  property-tax,  so  that  every  man  keeping  an 
account  at  a  bank  might  arrange  his  property-tax  with  his 
own  banker,  thereby  avoiding  any  scrutiny  into  his  affairs, 
except  by  parties  to  whom  they  are  already  known.     This 
plan  would  afford  the  revenue  very  good  security  that  the 
property  thus  assessed  would  not  be  under-estimated ;  for 
every  man  desires  to  appear  as  well  off  as  possible  to  his  own 
banker.     The  effect  of  this  plan  would  not  only,  it  is  thought, 
be  an  avoidance  of  annoying  official  inquisition,  but  would 
effect  a  saving  in  the  cost  and  trouble  of  collection,  (of  which 
the  Inland  Revenue  Commissioners  are  always  complaining,) 
and  would  secure  a  prompt  payment  of  a  tax  which  is  now 
Proposal  almost  always  in  arrear.     Another'  project,  which  emanates 

to  associate  ?  . ,  -,  .  T      . 

the  Tax  from  a  very  great  authority  on  such  matters,  is  to  popularize 
Assurance?  *ne  *ax  by  associating  with  it  a  system  of  life  assurance. 
Under  this  project  every  taxpayer  would  receive  from  the 
State,  in  proportion  to  his  contribution  to  the  revenue,  a  cer- 
tificate which  would  entitle  him,  at  death,  to  have  a  sum  of 
money  deducted  from  the  legacy  or  succession  duty  then 
payable  on  his  property,  or  returnable  to  his  widow  and  chil- 
dren in  a  more  direct  form.  The  calculations  on  which  this 
plan  proceed  show  that  an  immense  profit  would  accrue  to 
the  State  by  the  adoption  of  this  principle ;  and  knowing 
how  successful,  and  how  largely  profitable,  the  operations  of 
life  assurance  associations  have  proved,  there  seems  reason  to 
imagine  that  this  is  an  idea  which  might  be  worked  out  with 
national  advantage.  The  details  of  such  a  project  are,  of 
course,  not  within  the  present  object ;  but  should  there  be 
another  parliamentary  inquiry  into  the  income-tax,  it  is  to 
be  hoped  that  they  will  be  considered  with  attention. 

The  inquiry  by  Mr.  Hume's  Committee,  tainted  through- 
out by  party  objects,  was  nullified  by  the  spirit  of  party 


SEC.  I.]  PROPERTY  AND  INCOME  TAX.  59 

which  opposed  the  adoption  of  his  report.     Let  us  hope  that  CHAP.  in. 
the  time  is  not  far  distant,  when  the  efforts  of  the  great  econo- 
mist of  our  age  will  bear  fruit,  and  when  every  party  in  the 
State  will  be  prepared  to  recognise  that  he  did  not  live  in 
vain. 

In  concluding  my  observations  on  this  branch  of  my  sub-  LordJcf- 
ject,  I  cannot  resist  the  pleasure  of  quoting  a  letter  which  opinion  in 
embodies  a  strong  confirmation  of  the  views  herein  expressed.  pr0perty 
In  the  correspondence  of  the  late  Lord  Jeffrey,  published  by  Tax- 
Lord  Cockburn,  there  appears  a  communication  addressed  to 
Mr.  John  Macpherson  Macleod,  formerly  a  member  of  the 
Council  of  Bengal,  and  now  resident  in  London,  which  con- 
tains the  following  views  upon  a  property-tax.     They  may 
be  commended  to  the  peculiar  attention  of  the  Whig  party, 
of  which  Lord  Jeffrey  was  for  many  years  a  distinguished 
member : — 

"  EDINBURGH,  15th  February,  1849. 
UMY  DEAR  MACLEOD: 

"  I  conceive  no  tax  on  what  you  understand  by  income 
"  can  be  otherwise  than  unjust  and  unequal,  and  that  it 
"  ought  in  all  cases  to  be  laid  substantially  on  PROPERTY.  I 
"  think  it  a  very  reasonable  proposition  that  men  should  con- 
"  tribute  for  the  support  of  the  Government  which  protects  Lord  Jef- 
"  their  interests,  as  nearly  as  possible  in  proportion  to  the  value  Jjj?to  Mac- 
"  of  the  interests  protected ;  and  that  in  this,  as  in  every  ^•>1^aof  St> 
"  other  case,  the}7  should  be  required  to  pay  only,  as  in  vulgar 
"  phrase  and  fact  they  can  afford  to  pay.  Every  one  feels 
"  and  acts  upon  this  plain  maxim  in  ordinary  life.  The  man 
"  who  has  a  fixed  or  perpetual  income  spends  more  of  it  than 
"  the  man  with  one  that  is  temporary  or  precarious,  and  thus 
"  pays  a  larger  share  of  all  taxes  laid  on  consumption  or  ex- 
"  penditure.  In  the  same  way  he  is  expected  to  pay,  and 
"  does  pay,  more  in  charity  and  voluntary  benefactions. 
"  Why,  then,  should  he  not  pay  his  direct  taxes  in  the  same 
"  proportion  ?  and  be  required  to  relieve  the  necessities  of 
"  the  State  as  he  feels  it  his  duty  to  do  those  of  the  destitute  ? 


60  ON  TAXATION.  [SBO.  I. 


CHAP.  in.  "  and  subscribe  to  the  Exchequer  in  the  same  higher  column 
"  which  he  occupies  among  the  contributors  to  the  infirmary 
"  or  ragged  schools  ?  This  is  the  view  which  common  sense 
"  and  common  feeling  impresses,  I  believe,  on  all  men,  out 
"  of  which  no  logical  refinements  can  ever  drive  them." 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE     POST     OFFICE. 

No  one  can  be  more  fully  sensible  than  I  am  of  the  advan-     Advan- 
tages which  have  been  conferred  upon  the  nation  by  lowio^Eateof 
rates  of  postage.     The  blessing  has  been  felt  by  every  class-—  Posta£e- 
indeed,  it  may  be  said  almost  by  every  individual  in  the  com- 
munity.    The  boon  has  been  undoubtedly  greatest  to  the 
commercial  classes,  who  have  taken  advantage  of  the  low 
rates  of  postage,  to  circulate  information  relating  to  trade  to 
an  extent  scarcely  anticipated  even  by  Sir  Rowland  Hill  him- 
self.    To  the  humbler  classes  of  society  the  low  rates  of  post- 
age has  always  been* a  great  blessing,  by  enabling  them  to 
correspond  with  distant  friends  without  being  subject  to  a 
payment  which  fell  too  heavily  upon  their  wages.     To  the 
rich,  the  reduction  of  the  rate  of  postage  has  been,  perhaps, 
less  advantageous ;  their  correspondence,  under  the  old  post- 
age system,  having  been  largely  carried  on  without  expense, 
under  the  cover  of  franks,  of  which,  in  1839,  no  less  than 
6,563,000  passed  through  the  Post  Office.     But  to  the  reve-    its  effect 
nue,  the  alteration  has  been  detrimental;  for,  whereas  in  venue. 
1838,  the  last  complete  year  of  the  old  postal  system,  the  net 
revenue  derived  from 'the  Post  Office  was  1,659,510^.,  it  sank 
in  1840,  under  the  new  postal  system,  to  500,7S9Z. ;   and, 
although  more  than  twenty  years  have  elapsed,  it  has  not  even 
yet' recovered  itself;  having  been,  in*1861,  only  1,525,311Z. 

There  are  some  who  think  that  the  Post  Office  ought  not    The  Post 
to  aiford  a  revenue  to  the  State.     But  if  the  State  thinks  it  ought  to  be 
desirable  to  conduct  the  postal  business  of  the  nation,  why  reverme  to 
should  it  not  derive  a  legitimate  advantage  from  its  conduct the  state' 
of  that  business  ?     It  may,  indeed,  be  a  question  whether  the 
State  ought  to  trade  in  the  carriage  of  letters  any  more  than 
in  the  carriage  of  passengers ;  but  if  it  does  undertake  the 


02  ON  TAXATION.  [SEC.  I. 

CHAP^IV.  trade  with  a  view  to  the  advantage  of  the  nation,  it  should, 
surely,  derive  from  the  business  such  a  revenue  as  may  be  de- 
rived from  it  compatibly  with  a  scale  of  charges  which  are 
not  disadvantageous  to  the  nation.  If  so,  we  must  regret  to 
find  that  the  Post  Office  is  not  a  better  source  of  revenue, 
and  that  the  State  has  not  derived  an  advantage,  correspond- 
ing to  that  which  commerce  and  the  people  have  derived, 
from  the  increased  facilities  for  postal  correspondence. 

but       its     That  the  revenue  from  postage  should  have  suffered  so 

revenue  -,        „  -.  .     , 

has  not  in-  seriously,  for  so  long  a  period  as  twenty  years,  is  the  more 
proportion  extraordinary,  considering  the  immense  development  of  postal 
crease0  ^p^ercourse.     The  number  of  letters  delivered  in  the  United 
postal   in- Kingdom  in  1839  was  only  82,500,000:   whilst,  in  1861,  the 
number  of  letters  and  book-parcels  delivered,  may  be  taken, 
in  round  numbers,  at  600,000,000.     It  will  be  seen  from  the 
following  table,  adapted  from  the  accounts  in  the  last  Report 
of  the  Postmaster-General,  that  the  income  from  the  Post 
Office  has  by  no  means  increased,  in  proportion  to  the  in- 
crease of  the  trade  of  the  department: — 

LETTERS  DE-  NET 

TEARS.  LIVERED.  REVENUE. 

1839 82,471,000  ..  £1,633,764 

1840 168,768,000  . .  500,789 

Average  of  5  years,  1841-45 227,777,000  . .  656,809 

"                "            1846-50 327,006,000  ..  838,944 

"                "            1850-55 410,166,000  ..  1,128,502 

"                "            1855-60 522,898,000  ..  1,335,136 

1861 593,240,000  . .  1,525,311 

*  Looking  at  the  enormous  increase  of  the  number  of  letters, 
one  is  at  first  at  a  loss  to  account  for  the  absence  of  a  corres- 
ponding elasticity  in  the  amount  of  'the  Post  Office  receipts ; 
especially  as  in  those  receipts  there  are  included  the  profits  de- 
rived from  the  issue  of  money  orders,  amounting  to  128,OOOZ. 
a-year,  besides  an  item  of  30,OOOZ.,  which  was  charged  to  the 
State,  in  1861,  for  extra  official  postage  incurred  in  taking 
the  census. 

In  taking  the  present  net  revenue  of  the  Post  Office  at 
even  the  insignificant  amount  of  a  million  and  a  half  per  an- 
num, there  is  reason  to  fear  that  we  are  putting  the  amount 


SEC.  I.]  THE  POST  OFFICE. 


too  high.     From  an  account  of  the  revenue  and  actual  ex-  CHAP.  IV. 
penditure  of  the  department,  given  at  pp.  20  and  21,  of  the     The  Net 
last  Report  of  the  Postmaster-General,  it  would  seem  that  the  1,500^000? 
actual  expenditure  of  1861  ought  to  be  taken  at  3,154,527Z.,  g£^  d£ 
against  a  gross  receipt  of  3,530,  5572.  :  leaving  only  376,0302.  auctions, 
to  be  properly  carried  to  the  revenue.     In  returning,  there- 
fore, 1,525,3112.,  as  the  net  revenue  of  the  Post  Office  in 
1861,  the  Postmaster-General  is  under  the  necessity  of  ex- 
plaining "  that  the  expenditure  does  not  include  either  the  for  Packet 
cost  of  the  packet  service,  or  that  of  stationery  /"     Now,  it  and     sta- 
appears  from  the  same  report,  that  the  "actual  cost  of  mailtlonery' 
packets  "  for  the  year  1861  was  949,228?.,  and  that  the  actual 
cost  of  stationery  was  27,8972.     The  Post  Office  contends  that 
these  items,*  or  at  least  a  part  of  them,  ought  to  be  debited 
to  the  Admiralty  and  to  the  Stationery-office  respectively  ; 
but,  however  that  may  be,  the  fact  remains,  that  here  are 
items  approaching  to  nearly  A  MILLION  of  money,  expended  leaving  the 
for  postal  services,  which  are  not  included  in  the  Post  Office  £jfe  Ofe[he 
account  of  the  "  cost-of  management,"  and  which,  if  deducted  depart- 
from  the  "  gross  revenue,"  leave,  not  a  million  and  a  half,  more  than 
but  little  more  than  half  a  million,  to  the  credit  of  the  year's  lion, 
trading  of  the  department. 

Now,  if  this  is  so,  and  if  the  net  revenue  of  the  Post  Office 
upon  600,000,000  of  letters  is  actually  less  in  1862  than  it  whilst     it 
was  in  1839,  when  only  82,500,000  letters  were  posted,  it  isf^eiy   to 
evident   that  there  is  something  essentially  wrong  in   titaJfvtL^ot 
working  of  the  department.     For  a  very  short  calculation1839- 
will  show  that  600,000,000  of  letters,  at  the  minimum  rate  of 
\d.  each,  ought  to  produce  2,500,0002.  a-year  of  gross  revenue  ; 
whilst  82,500,000  letters,  at   an   average   of  (say)  6d.  each, 
would  produce  only  2,062,5002.     At  the  present  time,  there- 
fore, the  net  revenue  of  this  department  ought  to  be  nearly 


*  The  use  of  stationery  by  the  Post  Office  appears  to  be  enormous.  This  pro- 
bably arises  from  the  vast  number  of  documents  which  the  Post  Office  find  it 
necessary  to  print  in  order  to  carry  out  the  Money  Order  and  Savings'  Bank 
operations.  Such  an  amount  as  28,000?.  per  annum  could  scarcely  be  necessary  in 
order  to  instruct  the  public  how  to  put  Queen's  heads  upon  their  letters. 


64:  ON  TAXATION.  [Sao.  I. 

CHAP.  IV.  half  a  million  a-year  in  excess  of  what  it  was  in  1839,  instead  of 
being  more  than  100,000?.  a-year  below  it:  and,  indeed,  when 
we  come  presently  to  examine  the  gross  revenue,  we  shall 
find  that  the  excess  on  that  account  actually  is  a  full  million 
more  than  it  was  under  the  old  system. 

Sir  Robert     Sir  Robert  Peel,  wrhen  the  uniform  penny  postage  rate  w^as 

views  on  proposed  to  the  House  of  Commons,  deprecated  the  proposi- 
^e  admitted  that  the  then  existing  scale  of  postage 
was  too  high ;  but  he  thought  an  uniform  penny  rate  too  low. 
The  tendency  of  his  mind  appeared  to  have  been  favourable 
to  a  rate  varying  from  IcZ.  to  3d.  or  Ad.  per  letter,  according 
to  distance ;  and  certainly,  however  great  the  advantages 
resulting  from  a  penny  rate,  it  does  appear  an  anomaly  that 
a  letter  should  be  carried  from  London  to  Edinburgh,  or 
Gal  way,  for  the  same  sum  for  which  it  is  carried  from  St. 
Martin's-le-Grand  to  St.  Martin's-in-the-Fields.  After  the 
penny  postage  system  had  been  in  operation  some  years,  and 
when  Sir  Robert  Peel,  as  first  Minister  of  the  Crown,  had 
had  full  opportunity  of  forming  a  clearer  estimate  of  its 
advantages  and  disadvantages — he  said,  "  I  never  doubted 
"  the  social  and  moral  benefits  of  the  reduction  of  the  Post 
"  Office  duties.  I  did  not  say  but  that  the  scale  of  those 
"  duties  might  be  too  high,  and  might  admit  of  advantageous 
"  reductions;  yet  I  did  deprecate,  in  the  state  of  our  finances^ 
"  the  reduction  of  the  Post  Office  rates  to  one  penny.  I  do 
"  believe  that,  if  it  wTas  necessary,  I  could  show  that,  from 
"  the  Post  Office  revenue,  you  do  not  actually  raise  one 
"  farthing.  And  if  you  add  to  the  Post  Office  expenses  the 
"  charge  for  packet  ships,  the  state  of  the  accounts  will  pre- 
"  sent  a  deficiency,  instead  of  a  revenue,  arising  from  this 
"  branch  of  the  public  service.  But  when  I  say  so,  I  do  not 
"  undervalue  the  importance,  in  a  moral  and  social  point  of 
"  view,  of  the  late  Post  Office  measui  .' 

Sir  E.     "When  we  see  that  the  same  state  of  things  thus  described 
Sir  Robert  Peel  in  1842  continues  in  1862— that  "  if  you 

confirmed.  «  a(^  to  t}ie  post  office  expenses  the  charge  for  packet  ships, 
"  &c.,  the s state  of  the  accounts  will  present  a  deficiency, 
"  instead  of  a  revenue,  arising  from  this  branch  of  the  public 
"  service" — the  matter  becomes  still  more  serious ;  and  we 


SEC.  L]  THE  POST  OFFICE.  65 

may  properly  inquire  why  the  "  late  Post  Office  measure"  CHAP-  IV- 
has  not  been  as  successful  as  regards  receipts  as  it  has  been 
in  the  development  of  business. 

The  cause  is  undoubtedly  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  the     Cause  of 
Post  Office  has  undertaken   more   duties   than  it  can   ad-0fthereve- 


vantageously  perform.  When  the  rates  of  postage  were^® 
reduced,  the  Post  Office  was  in  possession  of  immense  facilities  office' 
for  carrying  on  its  business.  The  railway  system  was  rapidly 
developing  itself  throughout  the  kingdom,  and  it  is  not  too 
much  to  say  that,  without  the  facilities  afforded  by  the  rail- 
way system,  the  penny  postage  plan  never  could  have  been 
carried  into  operation.*  The  Post  Office  found  that  the  rail- 
ways afforded  the  means  of  carrying  letters  at  immensely 
increased  speed,  and  in  immensely  increased  quantities. 
They  found  also  that,  pro  rata,  the  cost  of  conveyance  was 
diminished  :  for  whilst  one  railway  train  can  convey  as  many 
bags  of  letters  as  at  least  fifty  of  the  old  mail  coaches,  the 
payment  to  a  railway  company  for  a  train  is  very  little  in 
excess  of  the  payment  to  the  contractor  for  each  old  mail 
coach  ;  so  that  in  addition  to  increased  speed,  the  Post  Office 
acquired  the  opportunity  of  carrying  vastly  increased  bulk,  at 
very  slight  increased  cost. 

Possessed  of  these  facilities,  the  Post  Office  commenced     The  de- 
the  development  of  the  new  system  of  postal  communication, 
and  began  to  occupy  ground  which  can  scarcely  be  considere 
within  the  bounds  of  their  legitimate  province.     They  first  y°nd.     ita 

1  province. 

commenced  the  money  order  business,  which  trenched  upon          The 
a  branch  (though,  I  readily  admit,  an  insufficiently  developed  o^r"7 
branch)  of  our  commercial  enterprise.     They  then  extended  system. 
their  proper  business  of  letter  conveyance  to  the  conveyance          The 
of  books,  commencing,  an   "inland  book   post,"  which,  bypost!"e 
degrees,  became  "a  parcel's  post,"  comprehending  any  sort  of 
packet  "  not  exceeding  two  feet  in  length,  width,  and  depth, 


*Mr.  Smiles's  "Life  of  George  Steplienson"  contains,  in  an  Appendix,  an 
Address  to  the  Institute  of  Civil  Engineers,  by  the  late  Eobert  Stephensou,  in 
which  this  fact  is  ably  demonstrated.  The  Post  Office  authorities,  in  their  Second 
Report,  disputed  Mr.  Stephenson's  positions,  but  he  rejoined,  and  overturned  them 
with  such  crushing  force,  that  the  Post  Office  thought  it  discreet  to  remain  silent. 

5 


66  ON  TAXATION.  [SEC,  I. 

CHAP.  IV.  open  at  the  ends  or  sides."""  This  was,  unquestionably,  a 
direct  interference  with  the  carrying  trade  of  the  country, 
and  a  very  flagrant  employment  against  the  railways  them- 
selves, of  those  facilities,  which  had  given  the  Post  Office  the 
The  "Post  opportunity  of  carrying  bulk  at  all.  More  recently,  the 
Savings'  department  has  opened  "  Post  Office  Savings'  Banks," — a 
1  s'  description  of  institution  which  does  not  in  any  way  fall 
within  the  proper  business  of  a  department  organized  for  the 
conveyance  and  delivery  of  letters ;  and  which,  upon  the 
plea  of  the  Post  Office,  that  they  have  "  a  branch  office  in 
every  town,"  might  as  well  have  been  undertaken  by  the 
Apothecaries'  Company,  who  have  a  member  of  their  com- 
pany in  every  town,  and  much  more  properly  by  the  Inland 
Revenue  Department,  which  has  an  exciseman,  or  Custom- 
house officer,  or  stamp  distributor,  in  almost  very  village  of 
the  kingdom. 

The  effect     And  Sir  Eobert  Peel  said  011  the  original  change,  "I  do 
measures!6 " not   underrate  the   advantages  of  these  measures."     But 
although  they  have  been  undertaken  to  vamp  up  the  Post 
Office  receipts,  I  do  very  much  question  their  expediency  as 
regards  the  revenue.     Let  us  see  how  the  system  operates. 
Largely     Every  new  branch  of  business  which  the  Post  Office  un- 
cosiTof  ma-  dertakes,  increases  its  cost  of  management.     It  is  this  c  cost 
nagement.  Qf  management'  that  at  present  eats  into  the  vitals  of  the 
Post  Office  revenue.     Let  us  look  at  the  '  cost  of  manage- 
ment '  in  contrast  with  '  the  gross  revenue '  of  the  department. 
It  will  be  seen,  from  the  following  table,  not  only  that  the 
'  cost  of  management'  has  doubled  since  1840,  but  that  the 


*  The  following  is  one  of  the  latest  public  notices  issued  by  the  Post  Office. 
Instead  of  samples,  we  may  anticipate  that  at  no  distant  day  the  Post  Office  will 
convey  the  articles  in  bulk. 

"  PATTERN  POST  BETWEEN  THIS  COUNTRY  AND  FRANCE. — Samples  of  seeds,  drugs, 
&c.,  which  cannot  be  sent  in  open  covers,  must  for  the  future  be  enclosed  in  bags 
made  of  linen,  paper,  or  other  material,  tied  at  the  neck  with  string.  Closed 
transparent  oiled-silk  bags  must  no  longer  be  used  for  this  purpose,  as  the  officers 
of  the  Post  Office  in  France  are  all  instructed  lo  treat  packets  of  this  description  as 
letters,  upon  the  ground  that  they  are  hermetically  closed,  and  cannot  be  examined' 
— By  command  of  the  Postmaster-General.  KOWLAND  HILL,  Sec." 


SEC.  I.] 


THE  POST  OFFICE. 


67 


per  centage   of  increased  cost,  to  gross  revenue,  is  at  the  CHAP.  iv. 
present  time  enormous  : — 


TEAKS.  REVENUE. 

1838 £2,346,278 

1839 2,390,763 

1840 1,359,466 

Average,  5  years,  1841-45 1,658,214 

"        1846-50 2,143,717 

"         1851-55 2,569,836 

"              "        1856-60 3,135,587 

1861 3,528,427 


COST  OF  MAN- 
AGEMENT. 

£686,768 

756,999 

858,677 

1,001,405 

1,304,772 

1,441,334 

1,800,451 

2,003,116 


Propor- 
tion of  cost 
of  manage- 
ment to 
Gross  Kev- 


]Nrext  let  us  see  how  this  increased  cost  of  management  has 
operated  upon  the  net  revenue  of  the  Post  Office.  It  will  be 
seen  from  the  following  table,  that  the  cost  of  management 
(without  the  million  incurred  for  packet  service  and  station- 
ery) is  one-fourth  more  than  the  net  revenue  ;  or,  if  we  add 
that  million,  is  absolutely  double  the  net  revenue  !  It  will 
be  observed,  also,  that  whilst,  since  1838,  (the  last  complete 
year  under  the  old  system,)  the  net  revenue  from  all  sources 
has  suffered  diminution,  the  cost  of  management  has  in- 
creased from  686,000^.  to  upwards  of  TWO  MILLIONS  ! 


COST  OF 

MANAGE- 

ANNUAL 

NET 

ANNUAL 

YEARS. 

MENT. 

INCREASE. 

REVENUE. 

INCREASE. 

1838  

£686,768 



£1,659,510 

.... 

1839 

756,999 

£70,231 

1,633,764 

1840  

858,677 

..     107,678  .. 

500,789 

Average,  5  years,  1841-45  .  .  . 

1,001,405 

..     152,728  .. 

656,809 

.  .     £156,020 

"            "          1846-50... 

1,304,772 

..     303,367  .. 

838,944 

182,135 

"            "          1851-55... 

1,441,334 

..     136,562  .. 

1,128,502 

289,558 

"            "          1856-60... 

1,800,451 

..     359,117  .. 

1,355,136 

206,634 

1861  

2,003,116 

..     202,665  .. 

1,525,311 

190,175 

propor- 


These  tables  show  that  the  increased  cost  of  management  The  in- 
is  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  increased  net  revenue,  and  that  costSed  of- 
it  is  the  increased  cost  of  management  which  keeps  down  the  man*)ge- 

°  *  ment  more 

net  earnings  of  the  department.     For,  it  will  be  observed,  than     ab- 
that  whilst  the  net  revenue  was  upwards  of  100,OOOZ.  less  in  increased 
1S61  than  in  1838,  the  gross  revenue  was  nearly  1,200,00.02.  r° 
more  in  1861  than  in  1838.     The  whole  difference,  and  more 
besides,  was  lost  to  the  revenue  in  "  cost  of  management." 


68  ON  TAXATION.  [SEC.  I. 

CHAP.  iv.  K"ow,  of  what  is  the  cost  of  the  Post  Office  management 
Large  Of-  composed  ?  The  principal  item,  more  than  one-half  of  the 

of  the  Post  whole  cost  brought  to  charge,  is  for  SALARIES  ;  amounting,  in 
1861,  to  no  less  than  1,102,5T6Z.  The  Post  Office  has  an 
enormous  "  staff  of  officers,"  numbering  no  ]ess  than  25,473 ; 
of  whom  there  are  : — 

Postmasters 11 ,391 

Clerks 1,630 

Letter  Carriers 12,152 

25,173 

Miserable     The  greatest   complaints  have  been  made  of  the  way  in 
these  offi-  wm'cn  these  25,000  officials  are  paid.     On  an  average  they 
cers-          appear  to  receive  no  more  than  about  forty  guineas  a  year 
a  piece  ;  so  that  there  certainly  is  no  extravagance  in  the  de- 
partment in  respect  to  rate  of  payment !     But  the  question 
arises  how  it  comes  that  such  an  enormous  staff  is  needed  ? 
Various  In  the  streets  of  London,  and  in  many  parts  of  the  provinces, 
which  the  pillar  letter-boxes  have  lately  made  their  appearance  for  the 
called   a<m  reception  of  letters.     Facilities  have  also  been  afforded  to  the 
theserviccr  I>ostniasters  by  the  construction  of  double,  treble,  and  some- 
times quadruple  letter-boxes  for  the  assortment  of  local,  provin- 
cial, and  foreign  letters,  newspapers,  and  book-parcels,  late  let- 
ters, &c.,  all  of  which  the  public  are  required  to  classify,  address 
to  postal  districts,  and  otherwise  distinguish  for  themselves,  and 
place  in  separate  boxes  under  fear  of  delay  in  their  despatch. 
At  our  own  houses  we  are  each  of  us  further  required  to 
prqvide  boxes  in  which  to  receive  our  letters,  so  as  to  prevent 
without     the  necessity  of  personal  service  by  the  postman.     In  every 
tjScous  re-  possible  form  and  manner  the  public  are  required  (and  they 
on  Ae^de-  willingly   consent)   to   impose    upon   themselves   additional 
livery     of  trouble,  inconvenience,  and  anxiety,  in  order  to  facilitate  the 

letters     or 

•the  reve- arrangements  and  convenience  of  the  Post  Office,  and  the 
sorting,  classification,  despatch,  and  delivery  of  letters ;  and 
yet  we  find  Sir  Rowland  Hill's  annual  estimate  for  "  cost  of 
management,"  increasing  out  of  all  proportion  to  his  "  net 
revenue ;"  which,  in  fact,  produces  little  or  nothing  to  the 
nation. 

Now,  why  is  this  ?     It  is  to  be  accounted  for  by  the  Post 


Sso.  I.]  THE  POST  OFFICE.  (39 

Office  having  undertaken  too  much.     The  13,000  postmasters  CHAP.  iv. 
and  clerks  are  required,  at  their  11,000  different  receiving-  The  Army 
houses,  not  so  much  for  the  collection  of  letters,  which  to  a  masters°re- 
great  extent  can  be  effected  by  the  postmen  from  the 
boxes,  as  for  the  banking  business  of  the  department — theing 
despatch  of  money  orders,  and  the  management  of  Savings' 
Banks.     And  in  the  same  way  the  legion  of  letter  carriers  is  and      the 
needed,  not  so  much  as  a  light  cavalry  for  the  delivery  of  let- 
ters,  as  for  the  heavy  duty  appertaining  to  the  book  post,  the 
parcels'  post,  the  sample  post,  the  pattern  post,  and  the 
ramifications  of  the  carrying  business,  in  which  the  Postment. 
Office  has  chosen  to  enter  into  competition  with  the  railways, 
"  the  parcels'  delivery,"  and  the  country  carriers. 

And  what  is  the  consequence  of  all  this?     It  has  been    Thecon- 
showii  already  that  it  is  increased  expenditure  and  diminished  injurious 
revenue.     But  let  us  observe  the  consequences  to  the  public.^  epu 
In  the  first  place,  the,  attempt  to  transact  business  foreign  to 
its  own  proper  duty,  diminishes  the  ability  of  the  Post  Office 
to  fulfil  its  own  proper  duty.     Hence  the  complaints,  which  in  the  irre- 
have  recently  been  so  rife,  of  delays  and  irregularities  in  the  de- 
livery  of  letters ; — hence  the  enormous  and  constantly  increas- 
ino-  number  of  "lost  letters,"  "returned  letters,"  "  dead  let-1]16,  postal 

'  duties     of 

ters,"  &c.,  &c.,  which  thePost  Office  never  deliver,  and  the  bulk  the     Post 

f\{9* 

of  which  they  immediately  destroy.     .We  are  all  conscious  of 
the  diminished  degree  of  care  with  which  our  letters  are  deliv- 
ered :  we  are  all  in  the  habit,  not  only  of  losing  our  own,  but 
of  having  thrust  into  our  letter  boxes  the  correspondence  of 
other  people.     Why  is  all  this?     Because  the  department 
undertakes  more  than  it  can  accomplish.     It  cannot  employ  as  well  as 
more  officers,  because  it  feels  the  already  overwhelming  and  Of  revenue 
disproportionate  increase*  of  its  staff,  and  the  impossibility  of  JJJJj*  in, 
adding  to  their  number,  without  incurring  a  serious  addition  ^gjs^ma 
to  the  already  excessive  "cost  of  management."     Yet,  itnagement. 
knows  that  its  present  staff  is  inadequate  to  the  duty  to  be  per- 
formed ;  and  it  is  obliged,  in  consequence,  to  throw  upon  the 
public  the  classification  and  assorting  of  their  own  letters ; 
thereby  constantly  puzzling  the  letter  writer,  but  affording  a 
convenient  excuse  to  the  department  in  the  event  of  com- 
plaint of  non-delivery. 


70  ON  TAXATION.  [SEC.  I. 

CHAP^IV.      To  the  same  cause,  also,  we  may  trace  those  frauds  in  the 

()The  Post  Post  Office,  which  have  been  of  such  constant  occurrence  as 

frauds  at-  to  have  become  quite  a  feature  in  the  criminal  calendar  of 

to  the  same  *ne  countr 7.    Inasmuch  as  the  Post  Office  has  undertaken  more 

than  it  can  properly  perform,  it  is  compelled  to  economise  its 

Moral     expenditure  to  the  lowest  possible  rate,  which  it  effects  by 

keeping  the  salaries  of  its  staff  at  a  minimum.     But,  as  we 

all  know,  a  minimum  of  pay  involves  too  often  a  minimum 

of  respectability  and  responsibility. 

sical   clef     ^  appears  by  the  most  recent  Post  Office  report  that  they 

ciencies      suffer  in  physical  force  also.     No  less  than  fifteen  and  a  half 

didates      per  cent,  of  the  candidates  who  present  themselves  for  ap- 

themseives  pointment  as  letter  carriers  are  rejected  by  the  medical  officer 

carrier?61"" as  un^^  ^or  the  increasingly  onerous  duties  which  devolve 

upon  them.*     The  medical  officer  says,  "  The  candidates  who 

"  present  themselves  are,  as  a  whole,  very  much  below  the 

"  medium  of  height,  strength,  and  physique  generally.     I 

"  should  like  to  see  the  service  more  largely  recruited  from 

"  a  class  of  persons  having  a  muscular  development  more 

"  like  ordinary  labourers."   The  Post  Office,  he  adds,  requires 

Come- "  fiodily  power"   in   the  present  race  of  postmen.     Their 

quences  of  ••  ., 

this  sys-  moral  attributes  are  a  matter  of  inferior  consideration  to  the 
"  muscular  development,"  which  enables  them  to  get  through 
an  extra  amount  of  labour.  The  consequence  of  this  system 
is  delinquency.  The  postman  raises  his  rate  of  pay  for  him- 
self by  robbing  the  public.  And  the  department  makes  the 
robbery  of  the  public  a  means  of  additional  taxation  on  them 
by  levying  an  additional  rate  for  the  "registration"  of  each 
letter,  under  the  pretence  of  paying  special  attention  to  their 
delivery,  although,  as  they  take  care  to  mention,  "  by  Act 


*  It  is  amusing  to  observe  the  qualifications  now  required  in  a  postman.  His 
age,  height,  and  weight  are  calculated — "  the  circumference  of  his  chest  after  ex- 
piration," its  circumference  "after  inspiration;"  his  "vital  capacity;"  his 
"  strength,  as  shown  by  the  dynamometer."  It  is  complained  that  "  the  weakest 
could  lift  but  165  Ibs. ;"  showing  that  it  is  no  longer  activity,  but  strength,  that  is 
required.  A  postman  must  be  adapted  to  carry  heavy  loads  for  the  purposes  of 
the  parcel's  post ;  the  activity  he  can  exhibit  in  the  delivery  of  light-weighted  let- 
ters is  not  measured,  and  seems  to  be  a  matter  of  inferior  consideration. 


SEC  I.]  THE  POST  OFFICE.  71 

"  of  Parliament,  the  Post  Office  is  not  responsible  for  the  CHAP.  IV. 
"  safe  delivery  of  a  letter  that  is  registered."* 

The  registration  fee  thus  demanded  for  letters  of  importance 
is  another  illustration  of  the  position  that  the  office  has 
undertaken  more  than  it  can  perform.  The  fact  is,  that  in  TheKeg- 
consequence  of  the  immense  mass  of  common  circulars,  and  Letters!1  ° 
other  printed  matter,  of  various  sorts,  passed  through  the  post, 
there  has  come  to  exist  a  feeling  amongst  the  officials,  that 
a  letter  is  a  matter  of  little  or  no  importance.  Having  its  effects. 
600,000,000  to  deliver  annually,  a  letter  becomes,  in  their 
eyes,  a  value  only  proportioned  to  a  one-six-hundred- 
millionth  part  of  the  correspondence  of  the  nation.  Yet,  as 
we  all  must  know  and  feel,  amongst  the  mass  of  valueless 
papers  we  receive  by  post,  there  is  very  frequently  some  letter 
of  the  greatest  consequence,  not  from  the  amount  of  coin  in 
it,  but  from  information  it  contains  or  arrangements  it  may 
indicate.  The  loss  or  delay  of  such  a  letter  may  be  of  the 
greatest  injury  to  the  party  to  whom  it  is  addressed.  Cases 
are  on  record  in  which  valuable  appointments  have  been  lost 
by  the  non-delivery  of  such  communications.  How  does  the 
Post  Office  treat  the  representations  made  to  them  upon  such 
subjects  ?  First,  by  a  printed  circular,  promising  inquiry ; 
then  by  another,  stating  that  they  are  unable  to  obtain 
information ;  then,  when  further  inquiry  is  made,  and  the 


*  The  Postmaster-General  absolutely  threatens  the  public,  in  his  last  Eeport,  with 
penal  consequences,  if  they  do  not  resort  to  Ms  Money-order  Office,  or  the  regis- 
tration of  their  letters : — 

"  I  have  thought  it  necessary  to  apply  for  authority  to  take  fresh  measures  to  pre- 
' '  vent  the  posting  of  unregistered  letters  contai  ning  valuable  enclosures.  Beginning 
"  with  the  London  Office,  all  unregistered  letters,  which  unquestionably  contain 
'  coin,  will  be  selected  from  the  mass,  treated  as  registered  letters,  and  subjected 
'  to  double  registration.  In  France  the  posting  of  an  unregistered  letter,  contain- 
'  ing  money,  or  valuable  articles,  is  now  treated  as  a  penal  offence ;  but  I  have 
'  much  hope  that  the  more  moderate  measures  we  are  about  to  try  will  be  found 
'  sufficient." 

I  hope  so  too ;  I  hope  that  no  one  in  this  age  will  be  committed  to  Newgate,  or  the 
Penitentiary,  for  the  terrible  offence  of  sending  a  crooked  sixpence,  or  a  broken 
spoon,  by  post.  The  extension  of  such  a  punishment  to  "  other  valuable  articles  " 
would  be  likely  to  deprive  Lombard  Street  of  all  its  bankers,  seeing  that  nearly 
6,000  bankers'  parcels,  containing  bills  and  notes,  are  said  to  have  passed  through 
the  post,  unregistered,  in  a  single  day.-  • 


72  ON  TAXATION.  [SEC.  I. 

CHAPJLV.  gravity  of  the  matter  is  pressed  upon   their   attention,  by 
assuring  the  parties  that  they  cannot  possibly  keep  or  register 
all  the  non-delivered  letters  of  which  they  are  unable  to  dis- 
cover the  writers  ;  that  their  very  number  renders  it  necessary 
to  destroy  them  ;  and  that  if  the  public  want  their  letters 
taken  care  of,  the  proper  course  is  to  "  register"  them,  at  the 
cost  of  an  extra  6d.  for  each  postage.     Another  mode  this, 
it  may  be  observed,  of  raising  the  postal  rate,  and  another 
proof  of  the  position,  that  the  department  undertakes  to  do 
too  much  work,  and  is,  consequently,  compelled  to  do  it  ill. 
Kisk  in-     Nor  are  these  the  only  evils  which  follow  the  system  under 
Losisto  the  which  the  Post  Office  is  now  worked.     The  conveyance  corn- 
State,        panics,  the  carriers,  the  bankers,  and  the  other  interests  of 
the  country  with  which  the  Post  Office  is  interfering,  work 
upon  their  own  capital ;  and,  if  they  make  losses,  suffer  out 
of  their  own  pockets.     But  the  Post  Office  is  working  with 
the  national  capital,  and  if  a  defalcation  should  occur,  by  an 
especially  abstraction,  for  example,  of  the  savings'-bank  money,  the  loss 
ings'  Bank  will  have  to  be  defrayed  out  of  the  capital  of  the  State,  if  it 
s'is  not  thrown  upon  the  poor  depositors  themselves.     And 
with  respect  to  these  savings'-banks,  although  they  may  be 
convenient  to  the  public  in  a  large  number  of  instances,  it  is 
Objects  difficult  to  discover  the  object  of  the  Post  Office  in  under- 
b™tio  Post  taking  the  responsibilities  attending  their  management.*     If 
it  is  to  bring  revenue  to  the  Post  Office,  then  it  may  be 
thought  that  the  department  had  better  have  applied  itself  to 
its  own  proper  business,  and  have  endeavoured  to  improve 
that,  before  it  embarked  in  another  and  quite  a  foreign  occu- 
pation.    If  the  object  is  to  obtain  more  direct  Government 
control  over  the  money  of  the  small  depositors  throughout 
the  country,  then  looking  to  past  experience,  and  the  losses 
which  Chancellors  of  the  Exchequer  inflicted  on  the  nation 
by  tampering,  some  years  since,  with  savings'-bank  deposits, 
that  object  is   one   of  very   doubtful  public  policy.      The 
desirability  of  establishing  savings'-banks   everywhere,  the 


*  The  protest  placed  on  the  Journals  of  the  House  of  Lords  against  the  Post 
Office  Savings' -Banks,  by  Lord  Monteagle  of  Brandon,  deserves  perusal,  on  account, 
of  the  sound  views  it  embodies  on  this  subject. 


SEC.  I.]  THE  POST  OFFICE.  73 


value  of  every  measure  which  tends  to  inculcate  prudential  CHAP^IV. 
habits  among  the  people,  are  objects  which  we  all  appreciate  ; 
but  the  department  which  regulates  the  postal  intercourse  of 
the  country  is  by  no  means  especially  charged  with  the  duty 
of  making  those  provisions*  for  old  age,  sickness,  or  death, 
which  savings'-banks,  provident  institutions,  and  assurance 
societies  of  every  description  might  more  properly  undertake  ; 
and,  if  the  Post  Office  authorities  have  a  commercial  and  not 
a  moral  object  in  view,  in  making  every  Post  Office  a  bank  of 
deposit,  the  design  is  not  one  to  be  encouraged  ;  and  I  am 
by  no  means  confident  that  the  result  may  not  lead  to  con- 
fusion, and  possibly  to  loss. 

Every  man  actively  engaged  in  business  does  well  to  ex-          The 
tend,  by  every  means  within  his  power,  the  sphere  and  range  should  en- 

-r.  v  ,.  ,  ±1      I  -.deavourto 

of  his  own  peculiar  occupation  ;  but  he  only  runs  the  hazard  develop  its 
of  having  to  encounter  unforeseen  difficulties  when  he  goes  °^  busi" 
out  of  his  way  to  engraft  on  his  proper  business  a  wholly 
different  employment.     Before  the  Post  Office  became  traders 
as  parcel  carriers  and  money  dealers  they  might  with  advan- 
tage have  endeavoured  to  extend  their  own  peculiar  occupa- 
tion as  deliverers  of  letters.     The  Post  Office  is  not  without  which     is 
competition  in  its  own  business.     The  Electric  Telegraph  from     the 
Companies  offer  opportunities  for  the  prompt   and  speedy  tkS^the 


conveyance   of  messages  which,   before  the   telegraph 
used,  were  committed  to  the  Post.     The  facility,  the  despatch,  nies, 
the  security,  and  the  low  tariff  which  the  Telegraph  Com- 
panies offer  to  the  public,  naturally  attract  to  them  much  of 
the  best  class  of  the  business  of  the  Post  Office.     At  the 
other  end  of  the  scale,  most  of  the  residents  of  London  are 
aware  of  the  very  large  and  increasing  proportion  of  circu- 
lars which  are  now  distributed  by  hand  without  ever  seeing 
the  inside  of  a  Post  Office.     Nor  is  this  distribution  limited 
to  private  hands.     The  Post  Office  has  almost  altogether  lost 
the  control  of  the  newspaper  circulation,  out  of  which  it 
might  have  made  a  revenue.     The  offices  of  the  several  Court 
Guides  in  London  have  become  centres'  for  the  delivery  of 
circulars  and  cards  ;  the  Commissionaires  offer  a  tariff  for  the    Com- 
the  delivery  of  circular  letters  in  the  metropolis  at  a  rate  per  Sres^&c. 
hundred  far  below  the  penny  postage  rate.     As  regards  those 


74  ON  TAXATION.  [SEC.  I. 

CHAP.  iv.  circulars  which  would  be  subject  to  the  higher  rates  of  post- 
age, and  which  require  to  be  enclosed  in  an  envelope,  most 
senders  avoid  paying  the  twopenny  or  fourpenny  rate  of 
postage,  and  resort  to  some  other  mode  of  distribution. 
Whilst  the  Post  Office,  in  fact,  lias  been  competing  with  the 
railway  companies  and  money  dealers  of  the  kingdom,  its 
own  proper  trade  has  become  seriously  aifected  by  the  supe- 
rior advantages  and  reduced  rates  of  charge  offered  by  com- 
peting carriers.  Sir  Rowland  Hill  would  have  done  well  to 
have  applied  himself  in  the  first  instance  to  encounter  this 
competition.  Having  the  postal  department,  with  all  its 
vast  facilities,  as  a  complete  monopoly  at  his  sole  command, 
there  was  nothing  in  the  form  of  postal  intercourse  that  he 
might  not  have  attempted  to  develop  with  advantage.  But 
we  must  all  feel  that  the  revenue  is  needlessly  sacrificed 
when  extraneous  duties  are  undertaken  which  involve  com- 
petition with  the  public,  increase  the  costs  of  management, 
and  operate  injuriously  upon  the  performance  of  those  duties 
with  which  the  department  is  specially  charged. 


CHAPTER  Y. 

EXCISE     DUTIES. 

IT  was  a  work  worthy  tlie  best  efforts  of  an  English,  states-  CHAP-  v- 
man  to  effect  the  relief  of  our  national  trade  and  industry     The  old 
from  the  operation  of  the  old  excise  duties.     It  was  not  so  &6a. 
much  the  amount  of  those  duties  which  injuriously  affected 
us,  although  by  increasing  prices  they,  no  doubt,  limited  the 
market  for  commodities,  and  thereby  diminished  the  employ- 
ment of  capital   and  labour.      The  baneful  effects  of  their,      ^T,heir 

/»  p  •  baneful  ef- 

operation  were  most  felt  in  their  interference  with  the  ireefects      on 
course   of  manufacture,  in   which   they   tended  to   prevent  trade3  and 
activity,  invention,  and  the  application  of  new  forms  of  ma-industry> 
chinery.      They   compelled   every  manufacturer  to 'manage 
his  trade,  not  according  to  the  teachings  of  his  own  experi- 
ence, but  according  to  an  Act  of  Parliament,  which  imposed 
upon  him  restrictive  regulations,  and  taught  him  nothing 
except  how  to  pay  a  tax.     The  natural  result  wras  inferiority 
in  the  quality  of  the  articles  produced,  which  inferiority  lost 
us  no  inconsiderable  proportion  of  the  market  of  the  world. 

Sir  Robert  Peel,  from  a  very  early  period,  saw  the  baneful  sir  Eo- 
effect  of  these  duties.  As  far  back  as  1833,  he  pronounced  eariy  viewl 
himself  strongly  in  favour  of  a  reduction  of  the  duties  on 
Soap ;  and  in  May,  1836,  he  said,  in  a  discussion  on  the 
Budget : — "  I  wish  to  reserve  to  myself  the  opportunity  gf 
"  considering  whether  the  total  abolition  of  all  excise  regula- 
"  tions  with  respect  to  Glass  might  not  lead  to  a  great  ex- 
"  tension  of  the  manufacture  of  that  useful  article  in  this 
"  country,  and  whether  that  might  not  lead  to  a  new  and 
"  abundant  source  of  wealth,  by  our  becoming  manufacturers 
"  of  an  article  which  is  now  chiefly  made  in  other  countries." 

The  duty  on  Glass   was  the  first  excise  duty  which  Sir 
Robert  Peel  repealed.     The  Act  of  Parliament  which  re- 


76  ON  TAXATION.  [SEC.  i. 

CH^flV'  ^eve(l  this  manufacture  was  passed  in  1844,  and  the  duty  was 
His  re- remitted  from  the  5th  April,  1845.  The  repeal  of  this  duty 
GLASS  has  been  attended  with  the  most  striking  advantages.  Pos- 
sessed as  we  are,  of  the  best  materials  for  the  manufacture, 
the  best  workmen,  and  the  best  machinery,  there  is  nothing 
that  England  cannot  supply  in  the  form  of  glass  at  the  lowest 
price  and  of  the  best  quality,  now  that  the  trade  is  free. 
When  the  duty  was  taken  off,  the  glass  manufacture  amongst 

its  effect,  us  was  quite  at  a  low  ebb.*  The  effect  wrought  in  a  few 
years  after  the  repeal  of  the  duty  was  remarkably  shown  at 
the  late  International  Exhibition,  where  the  productions  of 
the  English  in  glass  shone  conspicuous  above  those  of  every 
country  in  the  world ;  glass  and  china  being,  in  fact,  the 
articles  of  all  others  in  which  our  improvement  had  been 
greatest  in  the  interval  between  the  Great  Exhibitions  of 
1851  and  1862.f 

Character     I  dwell  upon  this  fact  with  the  greater  satisfaction,  because 

of  the  Ex-  r  j 

cise    duty  the  excise  duty  formerly  imposed  on  glass  appears  to  me  to 
ass'    have  afforded  an  illustration  of  the  worst  of  all  possible  taxes 

imposed  in  the  worst  of  all  possible  forms. 

The  value  Glass  is  an  article  easily  shaped  from  the  worst  materials 
into  the  most  brilliant  designs.  To  its  manufacture  may, 
therefore,  be  equally  applied  the  largest  amount  of  ordinary 
labour  and  the  greatest  amount  of  human  skill.  The  article 
itself  ministers  in  every  variety  of  form  to  the*  convenience  of 
mankind.  At  once  transparent  and  solid,  it  admits  the  light 
of  heaven  into  our  dwellings,  whilst  it  excludes  the  cold  and 


*  Mr.  Poulett  Thompson  (afterwards  Lord  Sydenham)  demonstrated  to  the 
House  of  Commons  that,  in  1830,  Glass  was  in  less  common  consumption  in  this 
country  than  in  17  94. 

•t  It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  if  the  excise  duties  011  glass  had  not  been  repealed 
in  1845,  the  Crystal  Palace  of  1851  could  scarcely  have  been  constructed.  Not  only 
would  its  cost  have  been  excessive,  but  it  admits  of  doubt  whether  the  glass 
manufacturers,  surrounded  as  they  were  by  restrictions  of  every  sort  upon  their 
trade,  would  have  been  in  a  position  to  supply  the  quantity  of  glass  required.  It 
may  further  be  observed,  that  Sir  Joseph  Paxton's  beautiful  design  for  the  appli- 
cation of  glass  to  a  great  work  of  construction  undoubtedly  gave  that  impulse  to 
the  glass  trade  which  resulted  in  our  great  success  as  glass  manufacturers  between 
1851  and  1862.  The  trade  derived,  from  Sir  Joseph  Paxton's  work,  an  incentive 
and  encouragement  to  new  combination?,  which  they  were  not  slow  to  apply,  as 
our  railway  stations  and  other  large  works  successfully  attest. 


SEC.  I.J  EXCISE  DUTIES.  77 

damp  inseparable  to  our  climate.  For  many  domestic  pur-  CHAP.  v. 
poses  it  is  the  cleanest,  the  cheapest,  and  the  most  convenient 
form  of  utensil  that  can  be  employed.  For  the  purposes  of 
science,  its  range  of  utility  is  unlimited.  It  can  be  adapted  to 
both  the  purposes  of  the  reflecting-glass  and  the  quadrant, 
the  telescope  and  the  microscope,  extending  our  range*  of 
vision,  and  opening  to  our  contemplation  nature  in  its 
minutest  forms.*  It  admits  of  endless  combinations  of  design 
and  colour,  and  can  be  equally  adapted  for  the  roughest  as 
for  the  finest  purposes.  To  place  restrictions  upon  the  skill 
and  industry  of  our  population  in  the  manufacture  of  such  an 
article  as  this,  was  more  than  an  injustice — it  was  an  absolute 
cruelty.  Not  only  do  our  windows  and  our  tables  bespeak  attested  by 
the  advantages  with  which  the  removal  of  these  duties  have  use. 
surrounded  us  ;.  but  the  very  pavements  beneath  our  feet,  and 
the  very  roofs  above  our  heads,  exhibit  the  various  adaptations 
of  glass  to  useful  purposes,  now  that  its  free  manufacture  is 
permitted.  This  remission  occurred  scarcely  eighteen  years 
ago  ;  so  that  the  art  of  glass-making  may  be  said  to  be  still 
quite  in  its  infancy  amongst  us.  As  years  progress,  we  shall, 
doubtless,  find  that  glass  is  applied  even  to  more  general  pur- 
poses than  at  present. 

The  duty  on  Auctions  was  the  next  excise  duty  repealed  t^u^on 
by  Sir  Hobert  Peel.     There  was  no  good  reason  why  property  AUCTIONS.  . 
sold  by  auction  should  be  subjected  to  a  duty,  whilst  property  ' 
sold  in  any  other  way  was  not.     The  tax  produced  very 'little 
to  the  revenue,  for  it  was  universally  evaded.     In  order  to 
avoid  payment  of  the  duty,  properties  were  put  up  to  auction, 
and  their  price  fixed  by  the  amount  to  which  the  biddings 
reached.     They  were  then  bought  in,  and  sold,  by  private 
contract,  to  the  highest  bidder,  thus  escaping  the  payment  of 
the  auction  duty,  and  showing  how  all  classes  are  ready  to 
combine  to  escape  a  tax  which  is  considered  an  unjust  infliction. 


*  Such  were  the  restrictions  upon  the  manufacture  of  Glass  under  the  Excise 
laws,  that;  th-e-  glass  used  in  the  manufacture  of  optical  instruments  was  obliged  to 
be  imported,  notwithstanding  a  heavy  rate  of  customs  duty,  because  the  regula- 
tions of  the  Excise  precluded  our  own  manufacturers  from  carrying  on  the  processes 
necessary  for  imparting  to  glass  the  property  upon  which  its  excellence  for  optical 
purposes  entirely  depended. 


78  ON  TAXATION.  [Sao.  I. 


.       In  1850,  the  duty  upon  Bricks  was  taken  off.     The  duty 
Eepeal  of  not  only  had  the  bad  effect  of  restricting  improvements  in  the 

duty.  B  ^K  manufacture  by  limiting  the  form  in  which  bricks  should  be 
made,  but  it  increased  the  cost  of  construction,  and  thereby 
added  permanently  to  the  rent  of  houses.  Tip  to  1833,  the 
dirty  was  extended  to  tiles  and  pipes,  which  prevented  the 
improvement  of  land,  by  the  amount  it  added  to  the  cost  of 
drainage  pipes.  Could  we  obtain  a  return  of  the  number  of 
acres  of  land  which  have  been  improved  by  drainage  in  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland  since  that  tax  was  repealed,  we  should 
probably  have  some  opportunities  of  judging  of  the  extent  of 
the  loss  sustained  by  the  nation  from  a  duty  which  compelled 
the  farmer  to  leave  large  portions  of  his  land  in  a  state 
unfitted  for  tillage.  The  repeal  of  the  brick  duty  has  had  a 
Its  effect  good  effect  upon  works  of  construction.  We  may  see  in 

stmction.  many  of  our  churches  and  other  public  edifices,  built  since 
1850,  that  bricks  of  a  superior  quality  have  been  employed 
in  a  variety  of  combinations,  so  as  to  produce  excellent  effects. 
It  is  curious  to  contrast  the  old  brick  house,  built  of  the  com- 
monest and  cheapest  bricks  under  the  duty,  with  the  new 
brick  edifice,  built  with  glazed  and  variously  tinted  bricks, 
since  1850.*  It  proves  that  in  bricks  as  in  glass  —  in  the 
commonest  as  well  as  in  the  finest  branches—  a  duty  upon  the 
manufacture  is  restrictive  of  improvement,  and  of  the  appli- 
cation of  art  and  science. 

In-  1853  Mr.  Gladstone  conferred  a  great  boon  upon  the 


**The  effect  of  the  brick  duty  upon  construction  is  very  noticeable  in  the 
metropolis,  where  bricks  have  been  generally  employed  for  ordinary  building  pur- 
poses. In  some  of  the  older  streets,  erected  before  a  tax  was  levied  upon  bricks, 
we  may  see  examples  of  brick-work  exhibiting  much  design  and  taste.  The  houses 
erected  at  a  later  period,  after  the  imposition  of  the  tax,  are  entirely  devoid  of 
ornament,  and  present  utterly  unadorned  and  ugly  fronts.  Nash,  during  the 
Eegency,  endeavoured  to  effect  an  improvement  on  the  metropolitan  frontages  by 
the  use  of  stucco,  as  may  be  seen  in  Regent-street  and  the  Kegent's-park.  Since 
the  repeal  of  the  brick  duty,  stuccoed  fronts  have  been  superseded  to  a  large 
extent  by  brick-work  of  a  siiperior  description,  presenting  many  beautiful  speci- 
mens of  design.  The  new  church  in  Margaret-street,  Cavendish  Square,  and  the 
new  banking-house  in  Lombard-street,  recently  erected  for  Messrs.  Eobarts,  Lub- 
bock,  and  Co.,  are  fine  examples— the  first  of  the  use  of  variously  coloured  bricks, 
and  the  other  of  the  employment  of  bricks  of  superior  quality,  in  combination 
with  stone. 


SEC.  I.]  EXCISE  DUTIES.  79 

public,  by  taking  off  the  Excise  duty  upon  Soap.     The  duty  CHAP.  v. 
was  a  powerful  check  to  consumption,  falling  principally    Repeal  of 
upon  the  poorer  classes,  who  should  have  been  the  largest  Jax. 
consumers.     It  was  a  restriction  to  cleanliness,  and  conse-     Evils  of 
quently  tended  to  promote  disease.     ~No  wonder  that  fevers 
have  abated,  since  air  has  been  admitted  to  our  dwellings  by 
the  repeal  of  the  window  tax,  light  by  the  repeal  of  the  glass 
duty,  and  cleanliness  by  the  repeal  of  the  Excise  tax  upon 
soap. 

As  the  soap  duty  did  not  extend  to  Ireland,  the  revenue  Soap  Tax. 
was   largely   defrauded  under  the  operation  of  this   duty. 
Large   quantities   of  soap   were  made  in  England  and  ex- 
ported to  Ireland.     The  exporter  received  from  the  Customs     Manner 

ii-t.'*/*!  -iii  m     which 

the  amount  he  had  paid  for  duty,  as  a  drawback  at  the  port  the    reve- 
of  exportation  ;  and  he  then,  by  means  of  the  smuggler,  re-  defrauded 
introduced  the  soap  from  Ireland  into  England,  without  its 
being  subjected  to  duty  at  all  :  so  that  the  revenue  was  twice 
robbed  —  first,  by  the  repayment  of  the  duty  ;  and  secondly,' 
by  the  introduction  of  the  smuggled  article.     Mr.  M'Culloch,     Mr.  Me- 
to  avoid  this,  proposed  the  extension  of  the  duty  to  Ireland,  proposal  to 


where  certainly  the  consumption  of  soap  was  rather  needed 
to  be  increased  than  to  be  diminished.     Happily,  Mr.  Glad-  Ireland- 
stone,  with  better  judgment,  repealed  the  duty  altogether  ;  Mr.  Glad- 
thus  unfettering  the  manufacture,  and  leading  to  the  employ-  total  repeal 
ment  of  oils  and  other  new  materials  in  soap-making,  which  °  lt' 
tend  to  cheapen  the  price,  improve  the  quality,  and  increase 
the  consumption.     In  all  these  respects  the  repeal  of  the 
duty  has  operated  advantageously,  but  especially  so  in  the 
improvement  of  the  manufacture.     We  never,  in  these  days, 
see  the  wretched  compounds  that  used  to  be  sold  under  the 
name  of  "  soft  soap." 

The  repeal  of  the  Paper  duty,  and  the  long-protracted  con-   Repeal  of 
test  which  preceded  it,  is  fresh  in  public  recollection.     In  a  doty.  * 
few  years  it  will  probably  be  thought  as  remarkable  that  any- 
body could  have  opposed  the  repeal  of  the  paper  duty,  as  it 
is  now  thought  extraordinary  that  any  one  could  have  ob- 
jected to  the  repeal  of  the  glass  duty.     The  duty  did  not    injurious 
alone  affect  books  and  newspapers,  though  it  has  usually  been 
discussed  with  reference  to  its  influence  upon  their  price. 


80  ON  TAXATION.  [Sao.  I. 


.  It  affected  paper-making  in  its  application  to  a  multitude  of 
useful  arts,  and  it  operated  unfavourably  on  a  large  number 
of  trades  dependent  upon  the  supply  of  paper.* 
Appiica-     Little  -more  than  a  twelvemonth  has  elapsed  since  the  re- 
Paper.    to  peal  of  this  duty,  and  we  are  not  yet,  therefore,  in  a  position 
s>  to  judge  of  its  effects.     In  the  course  of  a  few  years  new 
paper-mills  will  spring  up  —  improved  machinery  will  be  in- 
troduced —  and  we  shall,  no  doubt,  find  paper  employed  in  a 
variety  of  forms  of  which  we  have  at  present  no  conception. 
"Paper  The  recent  attempt  to  introduce  "  paper  collars  and  paper 
cuff's  "  —  which  were  offered  at  a  price  not  exceeding  the  cost 
of  washing  linen  or  cotton  cuffs  and  collars  —  singular  as  the 
notion  was,  illustrates  the  various  directions  in  which  inge- 
Paper  unity  is  sure  to  endeavour  to  extend  the   trade.     Papers, 
highly  ornamented,  are  nowr  offered  by  some  stationers  as 
substitutes  for  dish-cloths  ;  half  a  dozen  didi  papers  costing 
less  than  the  washing  a  single  napkin.     It  is  scarcely  neces- 
sary to  say  that,  before  the  removal  of  the  Excise  duties, 
these  papers  could  not  have  been  made.     It  was  considered 
necessary,  for  the  purposes  of  the  revenue,  to  limit  the  paper- 
maker  to  the  manufacture  of  paper  in  given  forms  ;  and  it 
was  only  by  a  special  and  very  recent  regulation  that  they 
were  even  permitted  to  make  an  envelope  at  a  paper-mill  ! 
Benefit      These  indications  afford  assurance  that  the  repeal  of  the 
resulting  °  paper  duties  will  be  speedily  followed  by  an  immense  ad- 
fepeai  'of  vance  m  the  art  of  paper-making  and  in  the  application  of 
the   Paper  that  material.     To  the  trader  the  repeal  must  be  a  consider- 
ably boon.     All  our  more  delicate,  and  most  of  our  coarser 
goods,  require  to  be  protected  from  the  effects  of  climate, 


*  Our  taxation  has  been  full  of  anomalies ;  but  perhaps  there  was  none  more 
curious  than  this — that,  whilst  the  duty  upon  paper  was  taken  by  weight,  and 
whilst  it  therefore  was  the  interest  of  the  Government  to  encourage  the  use  of  the 
heaviest  description  of  paper,  the  Post  Office  tax  upon  letters  was  also  levied  by 
weight,  which  was  the  greatest  practical  encouragement  that  could  be  offered  to 
the  use  of  the  thinnest  possible  textures  !  The  consequence  was  to  encourage  the- 
manufacture  of  the  lightest  possible  papers.  I  have  before  me  at  this  moment  an 
envelope  made  by  Mr.  M'Corquodale,  for  one  of  our  great  railway  companies, 
which,  whilst  it  is  firm,  strong,  and  opaque,  is  so  wonderfully  light  that  I  can  only 
compare  its  consistency  to  that  of  gossamer.  The  postage-stamp  attached  to  it 
nearly  weighs  as  much  as  the  envelope. 


SBO.  I.]  EXCISE   DUTIES.  81 

both  here  and  abroad  ;  and  the  best,  the  most  effectual,  the  CHAP.  v. 
cheapest,  and  the  most  convenient  mode  of  protecting  them 
is  by  wrapping  them  in  paper.  But  the  Excise  duty  on 
paper,  having  been  levied  according  to  its  weight,  fell  heaviest 
on  the  coarsest  and  thickest  paper,  and,  consequently,  added 
no  inconsiderable  item  to  the  cost  of  packing  goods  for  tran- 
sit or  for  exportation.  The  public  may  not  derive  any  great 
advantage  from  the  repeal  of  the  duty  on  the  paper  in  which 
their  tea,  snuff,  or  sugar,  is  wrapped ;  but  the  trader  will 
certainly  derive  advantage  from  being  able  to  protect  his  ar- 
ticles at  a  less  outlay.  Great  advantages  will  also  follow  Benefit  to 

^  *      ••  •  -in  nianufac- 

from  the  reduction  in  the  price  of  the  heavy  pasteboard  andturers. 
cards  used  in  weaving  and  other  manufactures ;  and  more 
general  prosperity  and  employment  must  result  from  the  re- 
lief. In  view  of  these  and  other  considerations,  it  is  pain- 
ful as  well  as  surprising  to  find  Mr.  M'Culloch,  and  some 
other  professed  friends  of  free-trade  principles,  inveighing 
against  the  repeal  of  the  paper  duty,  as  if  some  great  wrong 
and  injury  had  been  effected  by  it.  For  my  own  part,  I  re- 
gard the  repeal  of  the  paper  duty  as  one  of  the  most  substan- 
tial benefits  that  has  ever  been  offered  to  society;  as  an 
advantage  to  manufacture,  to  trade,  to  commerce,  to  science, 
to  literature,  and  to  the  arts ;  as  a  means  of  extending  know- 
ledge ;  and  of  introducing  amongst  us  new  applications  of 
one  of  the  most  valuable  and  useful  commodities  that  it  is 
possible  to  produce  from  raw  materials  of  the  commonest, 
coarsest,  and  cheapest  character. 

Hops  is  the  latest  article  on  which  the  Excise  duty  has    Eepeal  of 
been  remitted.     According  to  the  Commissioners  of  Inland mEatO* 
Revenue,  it  was  the  duty  of  all  others  the  most  easily  col- 
lected, and  in  which  frauds  and  invasions  were  most  rare. 
There  were,  however,  many  objections  to  the  tax,  especially 
those  arising  from  the  form  in  which  the  duty  was  made  pay- 
able by  the  hop-grower,  and  by  the  surveillance  to  which  his 
premises  were  subjected.     It  is  probable  that  the  cultivation    Probable 
of  hops  in  England  will  not  be  promoted  by  the  repeal  of  this  remission.8 
duty.     Simultaneously  with  the  repeal  of  the  Excise  duty,  it 
became  also  necessary  to  reduce  the  customs'  duty  on  foreign 
hops,  upon  which  the  duty  was  reduced  from  45s.  to  15s.  per 

6 


89  ON  TAXATION.  [SEC.  I. 

CHAP,  v,  cwt.  after  the  1st  January,  1862.  This  reduction  of  duty, 
and  the  facilities  of  communication  afforded  by  the  railways 
and  steam  navigation,  will  admit  foreign  hops,  the  growth  of 
Extended  Belgium  and  Bavaria,  into  use  in  British  breweries;  and 
Foreign  of  although  those  hops  are  not  produced  at  much  less  cost  than 
Hops.  Ollr  own,  yet  they  are  considered  of  a  superior  quality,  in 
consequence  of  the  more  favourable  circumstances  of  climate, 
&c.,  under  which  they  are  grown.  The  consequence  will 
probably  be  an  extended  use  of  foreign  hops,  from  which  the 
public  will  derive  an  advantage  in  the  improved  quality  of 
their  beer.  But  the  cultivation  of  hops  in  this  country, 
which,  from  the  variableness  of  our  climate,  has  hitherto 
been  the  most  speculative  and.  hazardous  of  our  agricultural 
operations,  will  probably  not  be  extended,  in  consequence  of 
the  remission  of  the  duty  ;  and,  in  so  far,  the  repeal  of  the 
Excise  upon  hops,  in  contradistinction  to  the  repeal  of  all  the 
other  Excise  duties  which  have  been  removed,  will  confer  no 
benefit. 

General  I  have  thus  gone  through  the  list  of  Excise  duties  which 
C1 L"  have  been  removed  during  the  last  twenty  years,  not  only 
because  it  fell  within  the  object  of  this  work  to  show  what 
had  been  done  towards  improving  our  system  of  taxation, 
but  because  the  Excise  duties  which  have  been  removed  illus- 
trate very  forcibly  the  evil  results  which  attend  duties  so 
imposed  as  to  affect  industry  and  manufactures.  I  might 
have  gone  back  to  the  days  wiien  there  were  Excise  duties  on 
printed  cottons,  Excise  duties  on  salt,  leather,  candles,  beer, 
and  other  articles,  which  were  repealed  before  what  may  be 
considered  the  dawn  of  the  era  of  free  trade  : — but  the  duties 
which  have  more  recently  been  removed  sufficiently  illustrate 
the  argument.  Arthur  Young  is  quoted  by  Mr.  M'Culloch 
as  eulogizing  Excise  duties  as  "  by  much  the  fairest,  the 
most  equal,  and  the  least  burdensome  of  all  taxes."  The 
position  may  be  questioned,  and  at  any  rate  our  experience 
has  proved  that  Excise  duties  may  be  so  applied  as  to  be  the 
most  baneful  and  obnoxious  of  all  taxes.  Certainly,  nothing 
could  have  been  more  injurious  to  a  manufacturing  country 
than  the  application  of  the  Excise  restrictions  to  the  manu- 
facture of  glass,  soap,  and  paper. 


SBO.  I.]  EXCISE  DUTIES.  83 

Leaving  the  past,  I  now  come  to  the  consideration  of  the  CHAP.  v. 
Excise  duties  which,  at  present,  constitute  a  source  of  revenue     Existing 
in  this  country.     The  principal  items  are  as  follow  : —  ties.1SG 

AETICLES  SUBJECT   I  1 1,^_.        '"'L^IJIIII  1 1 1 1  I     OF  DUTY,  TEAK   ENDIHG 
EXCISE  DUTY.,^^^"^  "^*>^lST  MAKCH,  1862. 

Spirits ..  .>....  9.f .  .THfi  .7?  -£9,972,927 

Malt- '  - 

Licences \.^  ........*    V.4.  ji,642,886 

Kailways .^*^.».  ^ .  ..9?fl* ~  ***  JJ   368,483 

Hackney  and  Stage  C^j^JjpQ.J^^^^^     218,198 

It  is  admitted,  I  believe,  on  alTiranSsTas  well  by  the  advo-    The  duty 

i»    ••.  p.-,.  ;«  ..,'  -i.  on  SPIRITS. 

cates  01  direct  as  of  indirect  taxation,  that  spirituous  liquors 
are  a  proper  subject  for  taxation.  The  only  question,  there- 
fore, is  as  to  the  extent  and  character  of  the  duty  which 
should  be  levied  on  them. 

It  is  more  than  questionable  whether  an  unduly  high  rate  The  con- 
of  duty  upon  spirits  is  desirable  in  order  to  check  consump- 
tion.  Experience  has  certainly  shown  that  the  consinnption 
of  spirits  is  not  reduced  by  high  rates  of  duty.  The  Parlia-  J?tes  of 
ment  of  England,  iir  the  reign  of  George  II.,  set  themselves 
to  discourage  and  repress  the  vice  of  gin  drinking,  not  only 
by  imposing  exorbitant  duties  on  the  article,  and  on  all  who 
sold  it,  but  by  prohibiting  the  sale  of  it  in  quantities  of  less 
than  two  gallons.  History  records  that  the  only  consequence 
was  to  drive  the  gin  trade  into  the  hands  of  the  lowest  class 
of  dealers,  and  to  superadd  to  drunkenness  a  vast  amount  of 
crime.  In  Ireland  and  Scotland,  at  more  recent  periods, 
the  effect  of  high  rates  of  duty  upon  whiskey  has  not  been 
to  check  whiskey  drinking,  but  only  to  promote  illicit  distil- 
lation. Within  a  (comparatively  speaking)  recent  period,  by 
far  the  larger  quantity  of  spirits  consumed  in  those  countries 
was  the  produce  of  illicit  stills ;  the  exciseman  was  defied, 
and  the  revenue  rendered  incapable  of  collection.  Immod- 
erate rates  of  duty  on  spirits,  therefore,  only  occasion  loss  of 
revenue,  illicit  distillation,  smuggling,  adulteration,  and 
crime. 

At  the  same  time  it  does  not  appear  to  be  desirable  to  put  LOW  rates 
a  low  rate  of  duty  upon  spirits.     The  revenue  is  the  object  to  gf  iriJsyn°ot 
be  regarded  in  taxing  spirits,  and  if  the  same  amount  of  reve-  desirable. 
nue  can  be  obtained  from  a  high  rate  of  duty  as  from  a  low 


84:  ON  TAXATION.  [SEC.  I. 

CHAF-  V-  rate  of  duty — that  is  to  say,  from  a  smaller  consumption- — 

that  result  is  to  be  desired. 

Proper  The  object,  therefore,  in  dealing  with  this  duty  should  be 
assess  it  at  such  a  rate  as  the  country  will  best  bear,  with- 
t£e  Spfrit  ou*  encouraging  attempts  at  evasion  by  the  smuggler,  the 
duty.  illicit  distiller,  or  the  retailer. 

Eecent      In  order  to   illustrate  the  working  of  these  duties,  it  is 

th?  duties,  necessary  that  we  should  shortly  trace  their  recent  history. 

The  whole  system,  however,  was  so  anomalous  and  vicious  in 

the  early  portion  of  the  present  century,  that  nothing  is  to  be 

learnt  from  it  prior  to  1821. 

Parlia-     In  that  year  a  Parliamentary  Committee  was  appointed  to 
Committee  consider  the  subject  of  illicit  distillation  in  Scotland  and  Ire- 
of  1821.      land,  where  the  most  stringent  laws  had  been  found  wholly 
ineffectual  to  protect  the  revenue.     The  Committee  reported 
Eeduction  in  favour  of  a  reduction  of  the  spirit  duties,  and  accordingly 
check     ii-the  rate  was  reduced  in  1823  from  6s.  2d.  in  Scotland,  and 
faCtLdistil~5*-  U.  in  Ireland,  to  2s.  4fd  per  gallon  for  both  countries. 
The  immediate  effect  was  a  very  rapid  increase  of  revenue 
consequent  upon  the  disuse  of  contraband  articles.     The  re- 
duction worked  so  well  that  in  1826  it  was  followed  by  a  re- 
duction  of  the  rate   of  the  spirit   duty  in  England   from 
11s.  S^d.  to  Y$.  per  gallon.     The  result  was  a  surprising  in- 
crease  in   the   consumption   of  legally-made   spirits.      The 
quantity  consumed  in  the   United  Kingdom  in  1820  was 
9,600,000  gallons;  in  1826  it  was  18,200,000  gallons. 
Changes     As  illicit  distillation  abated,  and  as  the  consumption  in- 
quentiy      creased,  the  Government  began  to  take  advantage  of  favour- 
le  opportunities  to  put  up  the  rate  of  duty  in  England  and 
Scotland.     The  following  tables  will  show  the  periods  at 
which  the  changes  were  made,  and  their  effects  upon  con- 
sumption and  revenue : — 

ENGLAND. 
DUTY  PER  NO.  Or  GALLONS        AMOUNT  OF  DUTY 

YEAR 

GALLON.  CHARGED.  RECEIVED. 

8.     d. 

1826 70  ..  7,407,204  ..  £2,592,521 

1831 76  ..  7,434,047  ..  2,787,767 

1841 7   10  ..  8,166,985  ..  3,198,735 

1856 80  ..  9,343,549  ..  3,737,419 

1861 10     0  ..  9,508,002  ..  4,469,740 


SEO.  I.]  EXCISE  DUTIES.  85 

SCOTLAND.  CHAP-  v- 

• 

DUTY  PER  NO.  OF  GALLONS        AMOUNT  OF  DUTY 

TEAB'  GALLON.  CHARGED.  RECEIVED. 

«.     d. 

1824 2      4%  ..  4,350,301  ..  £524,758 

1827 2    10  ..  4,752,199  ..  673,228 

1831 3      4  ..  5,700,114  ..  950,114 

1841 38  ..  5,989,905  ..  1,098,149 

1853 48  ..  6,534,648  ..  1,433,400 

1854 5  8  to  60  ..  6,553,239  ..  1,806,934 

1855 7    10  ..  5,344,319  ..  1,839,636 

1856 80  ..  7,175,939  ..  2,870,375 

1861 10      0  ..  5,816,835  ..  2,750,781 

It  will  be  seen  from  this,  that  up  to  the  most  recent  period,  Effect 
the  increase  of  duty  had  no  effect  in  diminishing  the  con-  changes  in 
sumption  in  England,  and  a  very  trifling  effect  upon  the  anj^oot- 
revenue  in  Scotland.  The  increased  prosperity  of  bothland-  • 
countries  obviously  enabled  the  population  to  bear  the  gra- 
dually increased  taxation. 

In  Ireland,  however,  the  result  was  different.  Ireland  in  Ire- 
did  not  experience  the  same  benefits  that  England  and  Scot- 
land experienced,  between  1841  and  1861,  from  improved 
commerce  ;  and,  from  this  and  other  causes  presently  to  be 
noticed,  the  spirit  duties  in  Ireland  were  subjected  to  dif- 
ferent rates,  and  the  revenue  underwent  different  fluctua- 
tions. 

IRELAND. 
DUTY  PER       NO.  OF  GALLONS    AMOUNT  OF  DUTY 

YEAR. 

GALLON.  CHARGED.  RECEIVED. 

6.        d. 

1824 2      4%  ..  6,690,315  ..  £803,148 

1826 2    10  ..  6,834,867  ..  967,998 

1830 30  ..  9,004,539  ..  1,412,917 

1831 34..  8,710,672  ..  1,451,778 

1835 24  ..  11,381,223  ..  1,327,809 

1841 28  ..  6,485,443  ..  864,725 

1844 "  ..  6,451,137  ..  860,151 

1852 "  ..  8,208,256  ..  1,094,484 

1854 34  ..  8,440,734  ..  1,588,745 

1855 60  ..  6,228,856  ..  1,633,382 

1856 62  ..  6,781,068  ..  2,090,829 

1858 80..  6,101,376  ..  2,338,624 

1861 10      0  ..  4,822,937  ..  2,269,860 


86  ON  TAXATION.  [SEC.  I. 

CHAP.  v.       This  table  shows  that  the  consumption,  after  rising  largely 

Opera-  upon  the  reduction  of  the  rate  of  duty  in  1835,  fell  off  nearly 

Temper-  e  one-half  in  1841.     The  cause  of  this  sudden  and  very  large 

raentmOVin  decline  was  not  the  increase  of  fourpence  in  the  rate  of  duty, 


Ireland  on  kut  the  adoption  of  the  temperance  pledge,  which  began  to 
duty.  be  administered  at  that  time  by  Father  Mathew,  and  which 
took  so  strong  a  hold  of  the  impulsive  people  of  the  sister 
kingdom.  Through  all  the  years  from  1841  to  1861,  the 
consumption  of  spirits  in  Ireland  has  scarcely  undergone  any 
fluctuation  that  can  be  accounted  for  by  alterations  of  duty. 
Under  a  6s.  2d.  duty  in  1856,  the  consumption  was  greater 
than  under  a  2s.  &d.  duty  in  1844,  although,  in  the  mean- 
time, the  population  of  the  country  had  greatly  decreased. 
This  shows,  however,  that  the  resources  of  those  who  re- 
mained had  materially  improved. 
Differen-  Throughout  the  years  between  1823  and  1856,  there  had 

tial      rates       .  J          ,      .  .  .         ,,  .    ., 

existing     existed  a  glaring  anomaly  in  our  mode  of  assessing  the  spirit 
*56'  duties.     They  had  been  applied  at  different  rates  to  each  of 
the  three  portions  of  the  kingdom  :  as  the  following  table 
shows  : 

EATES  OF  DUTY  PER  GALLON. 

IRELAND. 

s.      d. 
.      6      7# 

.  2  4% 
.  2  10 
.34 
.  2  4 
.28 
.34 
.60 
62 
.80 
.  10  0 

Effect  of     The  consequence  of  this   state   of  things  had  been   the 

ferentiai  *  "  illicit  introduction  of  spirits  from  the  country  in  which  the 

duties.       ]ower  rates  were  imposed,  into  England,  where  the  higher 

Spirit  rates  prevailed.     Separated  as  England  and  Scotland  are  by 

"across  the  only  an  imaginary  line  of  boundary,  this  difference  of  duty 

order."     was  ^  source  of  constant  trouble  to  the  revenue  and  to  the 


TEAR. 

1820  

ENGLAND. 

s.  d. 
11   8^ 

SCOTLAND. 

s.  d. 
..62 
..   2   4M 
..   2  10 
..34 
u 

..38 
..48 
..   7  10 
..80 
u 

10   0 

1824 

(1 

1826 

7   0 

1831  

7   6 

1836 

u 

1841 

...  7  10 

1854  

1855 

u 

1856    

8   0 

1858 

u 

1861.. 

.  10   0 

SEC.  I.]  EXCISE  DUTIES.  87 

public,  and  the  cause  of  very  unpleasant  restraints  upon  free-  CHAP.  v. 
dom  of  intercourse.     Is  was  therefore  determined,  in  1855,   Equaiiza- 
to  equalize  the  duties  between  Scotch  and  English  spirits,  duties!  *' 
which  measure  was  accompanied  by  an  increase  in  the  Irish 
duties. 

So  far  as  England  and  Scotland  are  concerned,  this  change    Effect  of 
has  been  beneficial  to  the  revenue  and  to  the  public.     It  has  in  England 
avoided  the  cost  of  maintaining  a  most  unnecessary  preven-^id. 
tive    establishment    on    the  border;    and   it  has  lelieved 
travellers  coming  from  Scotland  to  England  of  an  exami- 
nation  of  goods  —  a  most   undesirable  investigation   to  be 
applied   to   subjects  of  the  same  monarchy,   in  the  same 
dominion. 

In  Ireland  the  duties  were  brought  up  to  an  equal  rate  in    Effect  in 
1858,  and  were  increased  in  1861  to  the  highest  rate  which  Ireland> 
has  for  many  years  been  applied  to  that  country.     The  re-  The  dimi- 
sult  appears  to  have  been  a  considerable  diminution  in  the  ° 


consumption  of  spirits,  attended  by  a  small  diminution  of  tlon 

revenue.     The  Commissioners  of  Inland  Revenue  assure  us 

that  this  diminished  consumption  of  duty-paid  spirits  is  not 

to  be  attributed  to  any  revival  of  the  old  system  of  illicit 

distillation.    To  what,  then,  is  it  to  be  attributed  ?    I  believe 

that  it  is  entirely  to  be  accounted  for  by  the  altered  habits  of  to  the  ai- 


the  people  of  Ireland.  The  table  already  given  shows  that  ^  of  the 
the  consumption  of  spirits  in  Ireland  has  continued  to  de-Pe°Ple- 
crease  ever  since  Father  Mathew's  great  social  agitation. 
"We  know,  on  the  other  hand,  that  the  consumption  of  tea  in 
Ireland  is  largely  on  the  increase,  and  it  is  only  necessary  to 
walk  through  the  streets  of  Dublin  to  see  how  large  has  been 
the  increase  of  the  demand  for  beer.  Upon  the  whole,  then, 
and  looking  at  all  the  circumstances  of  the  country,  the 
equalization  of  the  spirit  duties  would  not  appear  to  have 
been,  as  regards  Ireland,  an  unsuccessful  operation,  though 
the  consumption  has  considerably  fallen,  and  the  revenue  has 
not  been  improved. 

As  regards  the  whole  kingdom,  the  result  of  the  spirit  du-      Genera^ 
ties,  since  the  equalization,  has  been  as  follows  :  tne°  equal- 


88  ON  TAXATION.  [SEC.  I. 

CHAP.  V. 

SPIRIT  DUTIES. 

ization     of  TEAR.  GALLONS  CHARGED.  AMOTTHT  CHARGED. 

the  Spirit  1858 23,198,984  £9,177,667 

1859 24,985,192  10,000,754 

3860 20,147,824 9,490,381 

1861 19,945,840  9,972,927 

increase  Although,  therefore,  the  consumption  has  declined  under 
'the  advanced  duty  of  2«.  per  gallon,  the  revenue  has  in 
creased,  and  is  now  very  nearly  equal  to  the  amount  at  which 
it  stood  before  the  increase  of  the  duty.  This  result  can- 
not be  considered  unsatisfactory.  A  bold,  though  a  most 
desirable  step,  was  taken  in  equalizing  the  duties  of  England, 
Scotland,  and  Ireland,  in  1858 ;  a  still  bolder  step  was  taken 
in  1860,  in  raising  the  amount  of  the  duty  no  less  than  2$. 
per  gallon,  in  order  to  equalize  the  duties  on  all  home  and 
foreign  spirits ;  but  guided  by  the  principle  that  the  spirit 
duties  should  be  regulated  by  the  condition  of  the  nation, 
and  that  it  is  not  desirable  to  reduce  them  below  the  amount 
at  which  smuggling,  illicit  manufacture,  and  adulteration  can 
be  avoided,  the  present  state  of  these  duties  is  not  unsatisfac- 
tory ;  and  it  may  be  hoped  that  they  will  at  least  have  a  fair 
trial  as  they  are  now  assessed. 

The  MALT  Of  all  the  items  of  the  British  revenue,  the  Malt  duty  has 
been  that  which  has  involved  the  most  complicated  conside- 
rations. The  malt  duty  has,  at  one  time  or  another,  been 
mixed  up  with  the  state  of  agriculture,  the  improvement  of 
its  com-  light  soils,  the  ale  and  beer  duty,  the  spirit  duty,  the  licensing 
plications,  system,  the  brewing  interests,  the  public-house  and  beer-shop 
question,  the  wine  duties,  besides  a  host  of  other  subjects  to 
which  the  duty  on  malt  has  been  supposed  to  have  direct  or 
indirect  relation.  The  various  interests  which  have  been 
brought  to  bear  upon  the  discussion  of  this  question  in  Par- 
liament, have  consequently  rendered  a  debate  upon  the  malt 
duties  so  incongruous,  that  it  has  often  been  by  no  means 
easy'  to  comprehend  the  argument. 

During  the  long  war  with  France,  the  duty  on  malt  was 
charged  at  the  rate  of  nearly  4=s.  Qd.  per  bushel ;   and  there 


SEC.  I.]  EXCISE  DUTIES.  89 

having  been,  superadded  to  this  a  heavy  duty  of  no  less  than  CHAP.  v. 
10s.  per  bushel  upon  beer,  besides  restraints  of  great  severity    Effect  on 

t,         .  , .  /.         -,,  /.  ,i  the      Malt 

on  brewing,  the  consumption  of  malt,  as  of  many  other  ar-  duties    of 
tides  subjected  to  high  taxation,  was  checked.     But,  although  j^,?**  on 
the  whole  of  the  ale  and  beer  tax  fell  upon  the  ale  and  beer 
which  was  brewed  for  sale  by  public  brewers,  whilst  none  of 
it  fell  upon  the  beer  brewed  by  private  individuals  for  domes- 
tic consumption,  yet  it  is  quite  certain  that  it  was  the  ale  and 
beer  tax,  and  not  the  increased  tax  on  malt,  which  checked 
the  consumption  during  the  war.     This  is  proved  by  the 
fact,  that  when  the  war-rate  of  duty  upon  malt  was  reduced 
from  4.5.  6d.  to  2s.  Id.  in  1823,  the  consumption  of  malt  was 
not  materially  increased,  and  the  result  was  the  loss  of  a  mil- 
lion to  the  revenue.     But  the  moment  the  ale  and  beer  tax    Kesuitof 
was  taken  off  in  1830,  the  consumption  of  malt  sprung 
(for  the  first  time  during  the  century)  to  what  it  had  been  in 
1799,  and  the  revenue  from  malt  increased  from  3,026,133Z.  isso. 
in  1829  to  4,257,T81Z.  in  1831.* 

In  1834,  the  Agricultural  interest  agitated  for  a  repeal  of  Agitation 

XT  -u    j    ±-  ,.1  j  •    i       ^        xi  against  the 

the  malt  duties,  on  the  ground,  mainly,  that  they  were  a  Tax,  1834. 
burthen  upon,  and  a  hindrance  to,  agriculture.     It  is  very 
doubtful,  however,  how  far  the  repeal  of  the  tax  would  have 
been,  even  in  those  days,  a  benefit  to  the  farmers.     Admitted     HOW  far 
that  the  effect  of  the  repeal  would  have  been  an  increased JrfthirKS 
demand  for   and  consequently  an  increase   in  the  price  of^e^t^ave 
barley,  yet  it  is  tolerably  certain  that  that  increase  of  price  Agricui- 
would  have  been  made  an  excuse  for  raising  rents.     In  such 


*  The  repeal  of  the  ale  and  beer  tax  was  effected  by  the  Government  of  the  Duke 
of  Wellington  in  1830.  The  remission  was  a  good  deal  criticised  at  the  time, 
rather,  as  it  would  seem,  with  factious  than  with  financial  feelings  ;  for  it  cannot 
be  doubted  that  the  measure  effected  great  benefit  by  unfettering  trade,  as  well  as 
by  increasing  the  consumption  of  an  article  of  revenue.  The  removal  of  the  re- 
strictions on  the  brewing  of  beer,  at  once  enabled  brewers  to  launch  out  their 
trade  ;  and  the  loss  of  revenue  from  the  remission  of  the  tax  on  each  barrel  of  beer, 
was  compensated  for  by  the  additional  quantity  of  malt  consumed  in  breweries. 
It  should  be  added,  that  the  objections  to  the  repeal  of  the  beer  duty  were  of  two 
sorts ;  the  one  emanating  from  financiers,  such  as  Sir  Henry  Parnell,  who  thought 
that  other  Excise  duties,  such  as  those  on  glass  and  paper,  might  have  been  re- 
mitted with  more  advantage — the  other  coming  from  the  Agriculturists,  who  ob- 
jected that  the  Government  ought  first  to  have  removed  the  malt-tax,  which  would 
have  afforded  a  relief  to  agriculture.  In  1830,  a  very  large  section  of  the  Agricul- 
tural party,  headed  by  Lord  Althorp,  embraced  Whig  politics. 


ON  TAXATION.  [SEO.  I. 

.  case?  the  advantage  resulting  from  the  remission  of  the  duty 
would  neither  have  gone  to  the  beer-drinker,  the  brewer,  nor 
to  the  British  farmer  :  the  amount  lost  to  the  revenue  would 
have  gone  into  the  pockets  of  the  landlords. 

It  was  urged  that  the  price  of  barley  would  be  kept  down 
by  additional  lands  being  brought  into  cultivation.  But  in 
the  debates  upon  the  subject,  Sir  Eobert  Peel  argued,  that 
any  new  lands  that  were  found  to  grow  barley,  must  be  pas- 
ture-lands and  clay-soils  forced  into  an  unnatural  state  of 
cultivation,  and  that  the  consequence  would  probably  be,  a 
Result  of  rise  of  price  from  the  increased  cost  of  cultivation.  The 
tion  of  fsVl  Agriculturists,  however,  were  in  those  days  so  strong  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  that  they  carried  the  repeal  of  the  malt 
tax  by  a  majority  against  the  Government  ;  and  their  decis- 
ion was  only  reversed  by  a  coalition  of  the  leaders  of  parties, 
who  declared  that  it  was  impossible  for  the  revenue  to  sacri- 
fice the  amount  of  taxation  arising  from  this  tax,  and  appealed 
to  the  House  to  reverse  the  decision,  on  the  ground  that,  if 
it  were  maintained,  "the  King's  government  could  -not  be 
carried  on." 
Opposi-  Simultaneously  with  the  crv  for  a  repeal  of  the  malt  tax, 

tion  to  the  i          T  i  ,         -,     -,  .    . 

Malt  tax  as  based  on  agricultural  distress,  the  remission  was  supported 

theapoo?.°n  V  ^r-  Cobbett  and  others,  on  the  ground  that  the  malt  tax 

was  oppressive  to  the  poor.     It  was  said  that  the  tax  pre- 

vented a  poor  man  from  malting  his  own  barley,  and  brewing 

his  own  beer—  that  it  drove  him  from  his   cottage  to   the 

public-house,  and  obliged  him  to  pay  a  very  high  price  for  a 

How  the  bad  article.     A  very  large  section,  then  and  since,  have  sup- 

ofT£?Mait  ported  the  repeal  of  the  malt  tax  upon  these  and  the  like 


grounds  ;  but,  candidly  considered,  there  would  really  appear 
working     to  be  very  little  in  the  argument.     The  malting;  of  barley  is 

classes,  •' 

an  operation  which  cannot  be  effected  with  advantage  on  a 
in  Malting,  small  scale.*     It  requires  buildings,  with  floors  and  kilns 


*  So  much  is  this  felt  even  in  the  malting  trade  itself,  that  we  find  the  smaller 
malsters  constantly  succumbing  to  the  larger.  The  number  of  maltsters'  licences 
undergoes  an  annual  reduction.  In  consequence  of  the  repeal  of  the  Ale  tax  in 
1880,  there  was  a  great  addition  to  the  trade ;  and,  in  1831,  the  number  of  licences 
taken  out  in  England  was  10,376  ;  but  this  number  has  gradually  decreased  to 
about  6,000— less  by  nearly  3,000  than  the  number  in  1830. 


SEC.  I.]  EXCISE  DUTIES.  91 

adapted  for  the  purpose;  and,  even  supposing  a  man  pos-  CHAP-  v- 

sessed  of  these,  that  malt   is  best   and   cheapest  which  is 

converted  from  barley  in  large  quantities ;  so  that  the  person 

who  used  only  a  small  quantity  of  malt  in  brewing,  would 

find  it  in  every  way  preferable  to  buy  his  malt  of  a  large 

maltster,  rather  than  to  undertake  the  manufacture  of  his  own 

malt.     As  to  brewing,  there  is  nothing  in  the  operation  ofinBrewing> 

the  malt  tax  to  prevent  any  person  from  brewing  his  own 

beer  even  now,  and  it  is  probable  that  many  more  persons 

would  do  so,  if  they  did  not  find  that  the  trouble  and  cost  of 

the  operation  made  it  more  to  their  advantage  to  purchase 

their  beer  by  retail.     With  respect  to  the  argument  that  the  as  regards 

,    .  ,,  ,  , .    ,  ,       ,1  ,•       resort      to 

labouring  man  is  driven  to  the  public-house  by  tne  operation  pubiic- 
of  the  duty,  it  is  really  not  the  price  of  beer,  or  any  operation 
of  the  malt  tax  upon  private  brewing,  that  makes  a  man 
resort  to  a  public-house.  He- goes  there,  as  men  in  a  superior 
class  of  life  go  to  their  club,  for  society,  good  company,  the 
chance  of  a  good  fire,  or,  it  may  be,  to  escape  a  scolding  wife, 
or  the  effects  of  a  washing-day  at  home.  The  state  of  the 
facts,  indeed,  disproves  the  inference  that  people  are  "  driven 
to  the  pot-house  "  by  the  malt  tax ;  for  at  this  moment  a  man 
may  go  to  a  public-house,  with  his  own  jug,  purchase  his 
beer,  and  carry  it  home,  at  a  less  cost  than  he  can  drink  it 
on  the  premises.  It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  it  is  not  price 
that  makes  him  consume  his  beer  in  the  public-house,  but 
other  causes  which  have  no  relation  to  the  malt  tax. 

In  consequence  of  the  repeal  of  the  Corn  Laws,  the  argu-      Decline 
ment  in  favour  of  the  repeal  of  the  malt  tax,  as  an  act  of  agitation 
justice  to  the  farmer,  no  longer  has  any  sort  of  force  :  inas-  J^"" 
much  as  any  increase  in  the  demand  for  barley  here,  would 
occasion,  not  an  increase  of  price,  but  increased  importation 
from  foreign  markets.     Since  this  fact  has  been  understood 
by  the  Agricultural  interest,  we  have  heard  less  of  the  hard- 
ship of  the  operation  of  the  malt  duty  on  the  labouring  man, 
and  of  the  evil  effects  of  the  tax  levied  on  his  beer.     In  his 
Budget  of  December,  1852,  Mr.  Disraeli,  as  a  boon  to  the    Mr.  Dis- 
Agriculturists,  did,  indeed,  propose  a  repeal  of  half  the  malt 
tax,  for  which  the  revenue  was  to  be  compensated  by  an 
addition  to  the  house  tax ;  but,  judging  from  the  fact  that  he 


ON  TAXATION. 


[SEC.  I. 


The  rate 
levied  on 
noV  affect 
sumption!' 


was  "^  *n  a  minority  upon  his  Budget,  it  would  not  appear 
that  the  proposition  excited  much  enthusiasm. 

It  is  a  singular  fact  in  connection  with  the  malt  tax,  that 
the  rate  of  duty  levied  upon  malt  does  not  appear  materially 
*0  ^Q^  its  consumption.  The  consumption  has  been  inju- 
r^ous^y  affected  by  other  causes  —  by  the  heavy  duty  upon  ale 
and  beer,  by  bad  barley  harvests,  by  bad  trade  and  the  pov- 
erty of  the  population  •  and,  on  the  other  hand,  it  has  increased 
when  ale  and  beer  were  relieved  from  taxation,  when  the 
barley  harvests  were  superabundant,  and  when  trade  nour- 
ished and  the  means  of  the  people  were  improved.  But,  as 
the  following  table  will  show,  the  consumption  of  malt  in 
England  is  not  materially  affected  by  the  rate  of  duty  :  — 


Malt  con- 
sumption 
in  England 
under    dif-YEAB. 
ferent  rates 
of  duty. 


MALT  CONSUMPTION,  ENGLAND. 


KATE  OF  DUTY 
PER  BUSHEL. 


1703  ........... 

1713 
1723 
1733 
1743 
1753 
1762 
1772 
1782 
1792 
1803 
1814 
1824 
1833  (a)  .............  " 

1843  ................  " 

1853  ................  " 

1854  (J)  .............  4  0  from  8th  May, 

1355(6) 

1856 

1857  ..........  , 

1S58  .......... 

1859  .......... 

1860  (d)  ...... 

1861  (e)  ....... 


1  4^ 

1  7& 

2  5 

4  5% 

2  7 


and  5  per  cent. 


2  7  and  5  per  cent. 


NO.  OF  BUSHELS 
CHARGED. 


26,754,505 
25,060,639 
80,655,498 
29,795,100 
26,298,391 
25,240,816 
25,951,676 
27,538,150 
26,718,048 
27,789,166 
29,562,038 
25,320,615 
27,615,383 
33,789,010 
30,891,002 
36,245,847 
31,868,978 
30,199,820 
34,439,475 
36,313,925 
38,015,619 
39,094,648 
40,715,458 
33,694,950 
41,314,250 


AMOUNT  OF 

REVENUE. 


£691,577 
650,932 
795,352 
772,109 
681,740 
654,430 
1,007,851 
1,070,125 
1,817,556 
2,142,950 
3,555,906 
5,657,228 
3,560,693 
4,364,413 
4,189,592 
4,915,842 
5,219,403 
6,039,942 
6,143,628 
5,314,465 
5,155,868 
5,302,211 
5,522,033 
4,569,584 
5,603,244 


(a)  The  duty  on  ale  and  beer  was  repealed  in  1830.    (5)  Tears  of  war  and  pres- 
gure .    (c)  Very  inferior  barley  harvest,    (d)  Very  great  barley  harvests. 


SEC.  I.J  EXCISE   DUTIES.  93 

It  will  be  seen  from  this  table  that,  in  the  year  ending  31st  CHAP.  v. 
March,  1862,  we  arrived  at  the  largest  consumption  of  malt    causesof 
ever  brought  to  charge  in  this  country.     This  was  owing  to  f^f  Jecent 
several  causes.     The  year  1860  had  produced  a  bad  harvest,  increased 
resulting  in  a  great  deficiency  of  barley  fitted  for  malt.     The  Son. 
stock,  therefore,  was  low ;  and  as  the  harvest  of  1861  pro- 
duced barley  in  great  quantity  and  of  very  superior  quality, 
the  quantity  of  malt  manufactured  was  largely  in  excess. 
But  this  was  not  all.     For  several  years  the  generally  pros- 
perous condition  of  the  country  had  led  to  an   increased 
consumption  of  malt  liquors;  and  the  free  importation  of 
barley,  and  the  improved  quality  of  the  malt  made  from 
superior  sorts  of  grain,  had  enabled  the  maltsters  to  meet  the 
demands  of  the  brewers  at  reduced  prices.     Besides  this,  the  t 
increase  of  the  spirit  duties,  which  operated  most  heavily  in 
Ireland  and  Scotland,  had  induced  an  increased  consumption 
of  ale  and  a  diminution  of  the  consumption  of  spirits.     In  increased 
Ireland  the  increase  was  remarkable,  proving  that  beer  is  tionnSUm  of 
gradually  superseding  whiskey  as  the  common  liquor  of  the  J^d. 
population — a  result  "which  every  one  must  desire,  who  has 
at  heart  the  improvement  of  the  sister  kingdom. 

CONSUMPTION  OF  MALT  IN  IRELAND. 

YEAR.  BUSHELS.  DUTY. 

1857 1,691,157  ..  £248,395 

1858 1,834,717  ..  247,737 

1859 2,161,520  ..  292,049 

1860 2,249.026  .  304,311 

1861  (a) 2,119,108  ..  287,182 

1862 2,513,760  ..  340,744 

(a)  Bad  barley  harvest. 


Such,  then,  being  the  facts  with  regard  to  the  malt  tax,  How  the 
we  have  next  to  consider  how  the  tax  may  be  best  regulated  may  be*X 
for  the  interests  of  the  public  and  the  revenue.  iaeted.regu" 

It  would  be  extremely  undesirable  to  place  such  a  duty      Princj- 
upon  malt  as  would  either  lead  to  frauds  upon  the  revenue,  ?lbicapplto 
induce  resort  to  spirituous  liquors  in  preference  to  beer,  ope- thls  tax* 
rate  injuriously   upon   trade   or   agriculture,  or   impose   a 


94:  ON  TAXATION.  [SEC.  I. 

CHAP.  v.  heavier  duty  upon  the  beverage  of  the  labouring  classes  than 

they  can  well  bear,  or  than  they  have  been  accustomed  to. 

^Character     The  malting  business  being  generally  in  the  hands  of  a 

frauds    in  respectable  class  of  traders,  the  frauds  have  not  been  consid- 

ness.         erable.     Those  which  have  been  discovered  have  not  arisen 

from  smuggling,  or  from  causes  referable  to  the  amount  of 

the  duty.     They  have  been  frauds  attempted  by  unprincipled 

persons  engaged  in  the  trade,  with  the  object  of  making 

malt  cheaper,  and  of  enabling  themselves  to  undersell  com- 

petitors.'   The  most  common  form  of  fraud  is  that  of  com- 

pression of  grain  upon  the  couch;  and  as  this  is  a  point 

which  depends  upon  admeasurement  and  admits  of  difficulty, 

it  has  been  the  cause  of  considerable  litigation. 

improve-     It  is  needless  to  refer  here  to  the  numberless  and  very 

adminis-    severe  restrictions  which  some  years  since  were  imposed  by 


Excise.  on  malting  operations.  ]STo  one  under  those  ope- 
Law.  rations  knew  whether  he  complied  with  the  law  or  whether 
he  did  not,  and,  consequently,  the  only  way  of  escaping 
trouble  was  to  be  upon  good  terms  with  the  exciseman. 
But  all  that  has  been  altered.  The  trade  lias  been  put  upon 
a  better  footing,  and  there  are  comparatively  few  maltsters 
at  the  present  time  who  complain  of  the  administration  of 
the  revenue  laws,  or  who  desire  a  remission  of  the  duty. 
The  fact  is  that  the  system,  as  it  now  exists,  though  it  may 
be  inquisitorial,  is  not  penal  ;  and  the  maltsters  who  have  em- 
barked capital  in  the  trade,  do  not  desire  the  competition 
which  might  follow  in  the  event  of  the  duty  upon  malt  being 
altogether  abandoned. 

o 

Malt  v.  It  has  been  argued  that  a  high  duty  upon  malt  might  force 
pints'  a  resort  to  spirituous  liquors  instead  of  beer.  That  would 
be  extremely  undesirable.  There  seems,  however,  to  be  little 
reason  for  imagining  that  the  operation  of  the  duty  upon 
malt  would  have  any  such  effect.  As  we  have  already  seen, 
the  duty  upon  spirits  has,  within  the  last  few  years,  been 
very  largely  raised.  It  is  now  higher  than  it  was  ever 
known  to  be  in  Scotland  and  Ireland,  and  within  2Qd.  of  its 
highest  point  in  England,  without  inducing  any  increased 
attempt  to  defraud  the  revenue.  Both  in  England  and  in 
Ireland,  the  taste  for  spirituous  liquors  is  on  the  decline. 


SEC.  I.]  EXCISE  DUTIES.  95 

The  Commissioners  of  Inland  Revenue,  referring  to  the  re-  CHAP.  v. 
duction  of  the  duties  on  wine,  record  their   opinion  that   The  taste 
"  there  is  more  reason  to  apprehend  that  wine  will  be  substi-  ou^quors 
"  tuted  for  spirits  than  for  beer :"  i.e.,  for  the  stronger,  rather  J^116  dc~ 
than  for  the  lighter  beverage.     The  consumption  of  beer  has 
decidedly  increased  of  late,  while  the  consumption  of  spirits    T&e  eon- 
has  only  been  maintained.     We  have  no  reason  to  think,  of  Beer  in- 
therefore,  that  any  reduction 'of  the  duty  upon  malt  is  re- whilst  that 
quired,  either  for  the  purpose  of  checking  fraud,  or  for  that  decreases!8 
of  checking  the  consumption  of  spirits. 

Lastly,  is  there  any  reason  to  suppose  that  the  malt  tax  Would 
inflicts  a  burden  on  the  labouring  man  ?  The  malt  tax  is,  in  benefit  by 
reality,  a  tax  of  about  a  halfpenny  upon  a  pot  of  moderately  ofthe 
strong  beer.  That  it  is  made  the  excuse  for  raising  the  price tax? 
of  beer  most  unnecessarily  and  most  unduly,  cannot  be 
doubted  ;  and  that  under  the  pretext  of  "  malt  tax"  we  pay 
more  than  a  halfpenny  extra  per  pot  for  our  beer  may  be 
entirely  believed.  But  the  question  is,  wrould  there  be  any 
reduction  effected  in  the  price  of  our  beer,  supposing  the  malt 
tax  was  reduced  ?  'There  is  too  much  reason  to^  suppose 
there  would  be  none.  Within  the  last  few  years,  since  the 
repeal  of  the  Corn-laws,  the  price  of  beer  has  been  raised 
most  immoderately  and  most  unduly  in  this  country.  Con- 
sidering the  diminished  price  of  barley,  the  repeal  of  the  hop 
duty,  the  increased  consumption  of  beer,  and  the  additional 
facilities  which  railways  afford  for  carriage,  the  price  of  beer 
ought  to  have  been  lessened.  But  there  is  reason  to  fear, 
not  only  that  we  pay  a  higher  price,  but  that,  in  consequence 
of  the  increase  of  the  bottling  system,  we  get,  as  a  rule,  less 
beer  for  our  money  at  the  present  day  than  was  ever  before 
known  in  this  country.  The  measure  diminishes  whilst  the 
price  increases.  ~No  decent  beer  can  be  now  obtained  under 
4:d.,  6d.,  8d.,  and  in  some  places  even  Is.  per  quart,*  prices 
quite  unknown  to  our  forefathers.  The  conclusion  is,  then, 
that  under  the  existing  system  of  vending  beer,  which  no 


*  At  the  Crystal  Palace,  as  well  as  at  some  of  the  better  class  of  dining-houses 
in  London,  they  absolutely  charge  Is.  a  pot  for  draught  ale  ! 


96  ON  TAXATION.  [SKO.  I. 

CHAP.  V.  doubt  curtails  competition,  the  people  would  gain  nothing, 
whilst  the  revenue  would  lose  much,  by  any  abatement  of 
the  malt  duty. 

Would  On  the  other  hand,  would  there  be  any  increase  of  revenue 
ease  were  that  duty  enhanced  ?  In  other  words,  would  malt  bear 
of  duty.  an  jncrease  of  duty  ?  Those  who  might  propose  such  a  duty 
would  be  exposed,  no  doubt,  to  a  factious  outcry  that  they 
wrere  adding  to  a  tax  upon  the  national  beverage.  But  upon 
whom  would  the  tax  fall  ?  JSTot  upon  the  agriculturists — 
they  have  no  further  interest  in  the  question  :  not  upon  the 
maltsters- — the  amount  of  the  duty  is  of  even  less  importance 
to  them  than  the  Excise  restrictions  on  their  trade  :  not  upon 
the  public — they  cannot  be  charged  more  highly  than  they 
are  already  charged  for  beer,  for  any  higher  charge  would 
largely  diminish  the  consumption,  and,  consequently,  the 
On  brewers'  profits.  On  whom,  then,  would  an  'increased  duty 
increased**1  fall  ?  It  would  fall  upon  the  brewers  ;  and  from  all  we  hear 
faii7wouldand  see>  it;  does  not  admit  of  doubt  that  they  can  bear  it. 
The  brewers  have  in  their  own  hands  a  monopoly  not  only 
of  the  §upply,  but  of  the  vending  of  beer.  By  aid  of  the 
investment  of  a  vast  amount  of  capital  in  public-houses,  and 
by  means  of  the  licensing  system,  the  brewers  have  been  able 
to  keep  the  vend  of  beer  in  their  own  hands.  They  have 
amassed  inordinate  wealth  by  the  operation  of  the  system. 
They  have  raised  the  price  of  beer  to  the  highest  figure  the 
public  can  bear,  without  affording  the  public  the  slightest 
share  of  any  of  the  advantages  which  they  have  themselves 
derived  from  the  repeal  of  the  Corn-laws,  the  remission  of  the 
hop  duty,  or  the  relaxation  of'  the  restrictions  which  were 
formerly  applied  to  the  various  branches  of  their  business. 
If  an  increase  of  the  malt  tax  would  not  be  injurious  to 
agriculture  or  trade ;  if  it  would  not  cause  resort  to  spirit 
drinking  instead  of  beer  drinking ;  if,  whilst  it  added  con- 
siderably to  the  revenue,  it  did  not  add  to  the  price  or  diminish 
the  quality  of  our  beer, — if,  in  fact,  it  fell  alone  upon  the 
present  inordinate  profits  of  the  brewers,  there  are  probably 
few  amongst  us  who  \vould  not  think  that  the  malt  tax  might 
be  gradually  and  discreetly  increased. 

Such  a  measure  might  perhaps  be  made  palatable  to  both 


SEC.  I.]  EXCISE  DUTIES.  97 

the  maltster  and  the  brewer  by  a  removal  of  existing  restric-  CHAP.  v. 
tions  upon  the  exportation  of  malt  and  beer.     In  consequence    Eemoval 
of  an  increased  taste  for  beer  upon  the  Continent,*  there  has 
been  for  some  years  past  an  increasing  demand  for  both  arti- Trade- 
cles.     Up  to  a  recent  period  our  Excise  regulations  operated 
as  a  serious  restriction  on   the   exportation  of  malt,  which 
"  could  only  be  made  for  exportation  under  special  regula- 
tions."    These  laws  were  modified  in  1860  ;  but  the  manu- 
facture is  still  subject  to  restrictions.     The  same  observation 
applies  to  the  export  of  beer.     In  order  to  secure  the  draw- 
back on  the  export  of  that  article,  all  the  beer  exported  is 
subject  to  chemical  test,  "  in  order  to  decide  the  proportion    «  chemi- 
of  the  malt  used  in  brewing."     The  number  of  these  tests 
have  necessarily  increased  with  the  increased  export  of  beer, 
and  the  chemical  analyst  of  the  Inland  Ke venue  reported  last 
year,  that,  in  consequence,  "  at  no  distant  period  the  strength 
"  of  his  laboratory  would  prove  unequal  to  the  duties  it  was 
"required  to   discharge."      The   result   of  these   analyses, 
however,  show  that,  in  1860,  the  per  centage  of  the  total 
number  of  barrels  of  beer  submitted  to  analysis,  and  deter- 
mined not  to  be  entitled  to  the  amount  of  drawback  claimed, 
was  represented  by  the  figures  0'99,  and  the  year  previous 
was  represented  by  the  decimal  0*57. f     It  really  seems  to  be     Futility 
a  question  whether,  for  such  results,  it  is  worth  while  sub-  such  exam- 
jecting  the  trade  to  any  trouble  at  all.     The  cost  even  of  theinations< 
department  for  examining  the  samples  of  export  beer  cannot  be 
defrayed  by  the  amount  of  drawback  represented  to  be  saved. 
A  system  which  dealt  with  the  public  on  the  first  principle 
of  our  law,  that  "  a  man  should  be  presumed  to  be  innocent 
until  found  guilty,"  instead  of  treating  him  according  to  the 
rules  of  the  old  Excise-office,  as  a  decided  rogue  until  he  was 
proved  honest,  would  be  an  immense  facility  to  trade,  and 
might  even  reconcile  the  brewers  to  an  addition  to  the  malt 


*  Eecent  visitors  to  Paris  cannot  have  failed  to  remark  the  magnificent  beer- 
halls  which  have  sprung  up  in  that  capital.  They  rival  those  of  Vienna,  and  far 
surpass  any  at  Munich. 

t  "  By  an  Act  of  last  session  the  number  of  rates  of  drawback,  varying  according 
to  the  strength  of  the  beer,  was  increased  from  seven  to  eighteen." — Report  of 
Commissioners  of  InL  JSev.  1862. 

7 


98  ON  TAXATION.  [SEC.  I. 

^V.  duty,  which  would  considerably  assist  the  revenue  of  the 
State. 

The  KAIL-  An  Excise  charge  of  which  we  hear  very  little,  but  which 
SENGER  AS~  produces  a  considerable  amount  to  the  revenue,  is  the  railway 
duty.  This  tax  was  first  imposed  in  1832,  when  the  stage 
carriage  duty  underwent  revision.  The  duty  at  that  time 
was  charged  at  the  rate  of  a  halfpenny  for  every  four  passen- 
gers per  mile.  In  1842  it  was  assessed  at  5  per  cent,  upon 
the  amount  received  from  all  passengers  ;  but  in  1844,  an 
Act  having  been  passed  requiring  railway  companies  to  run 
cheap  trains  for  the  benefit  of  the  poorer  classes,  they  were 
granted  an  exemption  from  duty  for  all  passengers  travelling 
at  fares  not  exceeding  one  penny  per  mile.  This  duty  does 
not  extend  to  Ireland. 
Proposed  Some  years  since,  the  Board  of  Inland  Revenue,  finding 

extension    ,,  ,  .   ,       ,  .    ,     , 

of  this  tax  the  great  extent  to  which  third-class  carriages  and  cheap 
c?ass i  pas-  trains  were  resorted  to  in  the  manufacturing  districts  and 
sengers.  other  parts  of  England,  sought  to  apply  this  tax  of  5  per 
cent,  to  passengers  of  every  class.  They  were  thwarted  in 
the  attempt ;  but,  for  some  time,  they  continued  to  press  the 
extension  of  the  tax,  which  would,  no  doubt,  have  largely 
added  to  the  revenue.  From  this  agitation,  however,  the 
Commissioners  have  now  desisted ;  and,  indeed,  it  is  not 
easy  to  see  on  what  principle  Parliament  could  tax  railway 
companies  for  passengers  whom  it  insists  on  their  carrying  at 
a  certain  speed,  and  at  a  certain  price  per  mile  ;  or  how  the 
5  per  cent,  tax  could  be  applied  to  any  one  set  of  third-class 
passengers,  (those,  for  instance,  by  excursion  trains,)  whilst 
it  was  not  applied  to  another  set,  (those  who  travel  by  the 
parliamentary  trains.) 

Character  Considered  as  a  set-off  to  the  loss  which  railways  inflicted 
IX'  on  the  branch  off  the  revenue  which  was  derived  from  a  duty 
on  stage-carriages,  this  5  per  cent,  tax  upon  passenger  fares 
has  not  been  objected  to.  But  it  is  to  be  observed  that  this 
tax  is  false  in  its  principle,  and  wrong  in  its  application.  It 
is  false  in  principle,  because  anything  that  limits  or  obstructs 
intercommunication,  must  be  disadvantageous  to  a  nation : 
it  is  wrong  in  its  application,  because  it  is,  in  effect,  a  tax  on 
the  receipts  of  the  railway  companies,  which  are  already 


SEC.  I.J  EXCISE  DUTIES.  9<) 

subject  to  the  property  tax.  In  its  present  form,  the  rail-  CHAP.  v. 
way  duty  is  not  likely  to  be  the  subject  of  conflict,  for  rail- 
way shareholders  make  this,  as,  indeed,  they  have  made  far 
greater  sacrifices  to  legislation,  without  much  complaining. 
But,  as  the  tax  is  a  very  easy  one  to  levy,  that  which  is  to  be  Appre- 
feared  is,  that  at  a  future  day,  some  Chancellor  of  the  Ex-  its  proba- 
chequer,  in  want  of  money,  may  be  tempted  to  dip  deeper 
into  railway  receipts.  Now  this  would  assuredly  be  resisted, 
and  with  great  propriety :  for  in  the  event  of  an  extension 
of  the  tax,  whether  in  amount  or  application,  the  burden 
would  no  longer  be  borne  by  railway  shareholders  them- 
selves, but  would  fall  upon  the  traffic  of  the  country.  In 
that  case,  all  the  coals  which  come  by  railway,  all  the  goods 
which  are  conveyed  from  the  manufacturing  districts,  whether 
for  home  consumption  or  for  exportation,  all  the  corn  which 
comes  to  London  out  of  Essex,  Suffolk,  and  the  other  agricul- 
tural districts  of  the  country,  all  the  oxen  which  are  sent  up 
from  Scotland,  and  all  the  sheep  which  come  from  the  South- 
downs,  w^ould  be  subjected  to  a  tax  upon  their  carriage. 
This  would  never  be  submitted  to ;  and,  therefore,  it  is  as 
well  to  caution  financiers  against  the  attempt,  and  to  sug- 
gest to  them  to  be  content  with  the  5  per  cent,  tax  on  first 
and  second-class  railway  passengers  as  it  stands,  which  is, 
indeed,  a  very  considerable  source  of  income,  and  as  the  fol- 
lowing return  will  show,  a  rapidly  increasing  one  :* 

AMOUNT  OF  RAILWAY  DUTY  EECEIVED.  The  rapid- 

ly increas- 
ing Rail- 
way duty, 


YEAR. 

1833  

ENGLAND. 

£6,131 

SCOTLAND. 

1837  

16,339 

£  553 

1840 

107,084 

5,343 

1843 

149,370 

8  996 

1846  

201,236 

11  081 

1850 

229  750 

21  246 

1853                     

274,511 

21  901 

1856  

306,345 

27,718 

1861 

342,145 

30  032 

*  The  amount  of  the  tax,  however,  is  considerably  more  than  the  total  amount 
paid  to  the  railways  by  the  Government  for  the  conveyance  of  the  mails  ;  so  that 
that  service  may  be  said  to  be  performed  by  the  railway  companies  for  less  than 
nothing.  Yet  the  Post  Office  is  perpetually  complaining  of  the  amount  which  it 
has  to*pay  the  railways  for  conveyance.  As  if  conveyance  was  not  the  very  first 
element  of  postal  intercourse  ! 


100  ON  TAXATION.  [Sao.  I. 

CHAP-  v-       It  is  rather  curious  to  contrast  tliis  rapid  increase  of  reve- 
contrasted  nue  from  railways  with  the  continuous  decline  in  the  amounts 
derived  from  the  licence  and  mileage  duties  for  stage-car- 
riages. 

the  rapidly  STAGE  CARRIAGES,  (DUTY  AND  LICENCES.) 

declining 

YEAR-  ENGLAND.  SCOTLAND. 

1833 £426,979  ..  £31,049 

1836  (a) 488,983  . .  35,468 

1839 410,307  ..  32,860 

1843(5).. 221,493  ..  21,840 

1846 218,383  ..  22,260 

1850..'. 196,062  ..  15,185 

1854...: 170,546  ..  13,742 

1856  (c) 106,272  ..  8,535 

1861 116,313  ..  9,244 

(a)  The  highest  amounts  ever  obtained.    (J)  The  licences  were  reduced  in  1842 
from  £5  to  £3  Ss.    (c)  The  mileage  duty  was  reduced  from  l%d.  to  Id.  in  1855. 

Taxes  on     More  than  half  the  total  amount  of  receipts  from  this  duty 
tion°m0~in  is  (jeriye^  from  omnibuses  and  stage  carriages  in  London. 
London.     There  is  another  duty  on  locomotion  which  applies  exclu- 
sively to  the  metropolis,  and  in  which,  therefore,  I  feel  more 
The  Hack-  than  ordinary  interest.    This  is  the  duty  levied  on  hackney  car- 
riage duty,  riages,  which  produces  a  sum  of  about  80,OOOZ.  a  year  to  the 
revenue,  but  which  seems  to  be  raised  at  much  disadvantage 
to  the  public.     The  hackney-carriage  duty  is  as  old  as  the 
time  of  Charles  II.,  having  been  first  imposed  in  1662.* 
Formerly  there  was  a  restriction  as  to  the  number  of  car- 
riages to  be  licensed,  so  that  the  possession  of  a  licence  was 
regarded  as  a  valuable  privilege  ;  but  since  1833  the  number 
Itecentai-of  licences  has  been  unrestricted.     In  1853  the  hackney-car- 
of       this  riage  duties  were  altered  under  the  Ilackney-Carriage  Act. 
The  owner's  licence  was  altered  from  5Z.  for  a  licence  for 
life,  to  a  duty  of  1Z.  per  annum  ;  and  the  rate  of  duty  for 
plying  was  reduced  from  10s.  per  week  to  Is.  per  week,  for 


*  It  was,  as  I  am  told,  originally  imposed  to  provide  for  the  better  pavement  of 
the  streets  in  the  metropolis.  This  accounts  for  the  local  application  of  the  tax. 
It  was  first  made  an  item  of  public  revenae  during  the  reign  of  King  William  III. 


SEC.  I.]  EXCISE  DUTIES.  101 

those  carriages  which  plied  every  day,  and  6s.  per  week  for  CHAP.  v. 
those  not  used  on  Sundays.* 

At  the  same  time,  the  hackney  carriages  were  placed  un- 
der the  direction  of  the  police  commissioners,  who  were  em-  Hackney- 
powered  to  license  drivers,  to  appoint  a  paid  waterman  at  Act™26  of 
the  stands,  and  to  make  regulations  for  the  conduct  of  the 1853> 
trade.     The  fares  were,  at  the  same  time,  reduced  from  Sd. 
to  6d.  per  mile ;  but  a  variety  of  restrictions  and  regulations 
as  to  the  number  of  passengers  to  be  conveyed,  the  number 
of  children  to  be  considered  as  "  one  adult,"  the  conveyance 
of  luggage,  &c.,  &c.,  deprived  the  public  of  much  of  the 
advantage  they  would  otherwise  have  derived  from  the  re- 
duction ;  and  the  Act  was  rendered  still  more  difficult  of  in- 
terpretation from  the  complications  arising  out  of  different 
magisterial  decisions — the  bench  at  one  police-court  deciding 
for  the  cabmen,  and  at  another  police-court  for  the  hirers, 
upon  precisely  the  same  state  of  facts. 

Now,  all  this  shows  how  little  is  gained  by  the  revenue,  or  its  object 
the  public,  by  any  measure  which  restricts  and  shackles  trade.  and 
The  Hackney-Carriage  Act  of  1853  was  designed  with  a 
view  to  improve  the  character  of  the  hackney  carriages  of 
London,  and  to  make  them  more  available  for  public  pur- 
poses. It  has  entirely  failed  in  those  objects.  The  very  first 
effect  of  its  operation,  was  to  drive  out  of  the  trade  some 
of  the  largest  cab-proprietors,  who  had  no  confidence  in  the 
new  regulations,  and  who  objected  to  being  placed  under  the 
superintendence  of  the  police.  The  trade,  surrounded  by 
cumbersome  regulations,  did  not  attract  new  capital.  The 
carriages  and  horses  were  not  improved,  nor  were  the  drivers, 
licensed  by  the  police,  men  of  better  character.  The  revenue 
derived  no  advantage  ;  for  although  the  amount  of  hackney- 
carriage  duty  in  1861  rose  above  the  sum  received  from  it  in 
1852,  yet  for  several  years  after  the  passing  of  the  Act  of  1853, 


*  The  distinction  thus  made  between  six  and  seven  day  licences  made  it  neces- 
sary to  alter  the  appearance  of  the  plates  so  as  to  indicate  the  character  of  the 
licence  under  which  the  cabs  are  plying.  For  this  purpose  the  seven-day  plates 
are  numbered  from  1  upwards,  and  the  six-day  plates  from  10,000  upwards.  And 
they  are  differently  coloured. 


102  ON  TAXATION.  [SKO.  I. 

CHAP.JV.  it  was  very  considerably  below  the  amount  of  1852.  It  can 
hardly  be  said,  therefore,  that  the  public  have  benefited  by 
this  Act,  whilst  the  trade  to  which  it  applies  is  constantly 
complaining  of  its  operation. 

Agitation     At  the  present  time  there  is  an  agitation,  amongst  the  par- 
teration.a  "  ties  interested  in  hackney  carriages,  for  an  alteration  of  the 
Act  of  1853,  to  be  effected  during  the  next  session  of  Par- 
liament.    It  is  much  to  be  feared,  however,  that  the  objects 
sought  by  the  trade  are  in  the  wrong  direction,  and  are  not 
of  such  a  nature  as  are  likely  to  secure  for  them  the  sympa- 
The  re- thy  either  of  Parliament  or  of  the  public.     If,  instead  of 
on       the  agitating  for  what  would  amount  to  an  increase  upon  the 
should  be  fares,  they  applied  themselves  to  obtain  a  removal  of  the  re- 
removed,    gtrictions  on  their  trade,  they  would  be  much  more  likely  to 
obtain  their  object.*     There  is  no  good  reason  why  the  Lon- 
don hackney-coach  proprietor  should  be  taxed,  whilst  the 
hackney-coach  proprietors  of  Edinburgh,  Dublin,  Manches- 
ter, Leeds,  Birmingham,  Sheffield,  Wolverhampton,  and  other 
large  towns,  are  free  from  any  duty  for  licence  or  for  plying. 
In  almost  all  the  towns  above  mentioned,  the  character  of 
the  hackney  carriages  is  very  far  superior  indeed  to  those  of 
London  ;  and  in  several  of  these  towns  (Dublin  for  example) 
the  fares  are  cheaper,  f     The  probabilities  are,  that  if  the 
hackney-carriage  trade  of  London  wrere  relieved  of  the  Excise 
duty,  (which  is  made  payable  in  advance,  is  most  strictly  en- 
forced, and  the  costs  of  collecting  which  are  singularly  heavy 


*  Besides  the  duties  paid  by  proprietors  and  drivers,  the  cab  business  in  the 
metropolis  suffers  from  another  obstruction.  Within  the  compass  of  the  five-mile 
radius  there  are  no  less  than  120  toll-bars,  at  which  the  public  are  naturally  anx- 
ious to  avoid  payment.  These  toll-gates  operate  as  a  serious  limitation  to  the  hire 
of  cabs.  The  Government  ought  to  remove  the  bars.  If  they  do  not  choose  to 
take  off  the  hackney-carriage  duties,  they  should  at  least  apply  the  proceeds,  as 
originally  intended,  to  paving  the  streets,  which  would  render  toll-gates  unneces- 
sary. 

t  Sixpence  is  the  fare  in  Dublin  for  a  drive  to  any  part  within  the  city  ;  and  the 
carman  is  well  satisfied  with  the  payment.  The  public  vehicles  of  Dublin,  like 
many  other  things  in  Ireland,  have  recently  been  greatly  improved.  The  "  inside 
car"  has  almost  entirely  disappeared,  having  given  place  to  the  London  cab  ; — the 
"  outside  car,"  a  most  convenient  vehicle  in  fine  weather,  still  remaining  in  use. 
It  may  here  be  observed  that  the  "  Hansoms  "  in  use  at  Birmingham  and  Wolver- 
hampton  are  very  superior  vehicles,  and  are,  generally,  well  horsed. 


SEC.  I.]  EXCISE  DUTIES.  103 

and  oppressive,)  the  trade  would  get  into  better  hands,  and  CHAP.  v. 
superior  vehicles  and  horses  would  be  employed.     A  better    Good  re- 
cab  and  horse  would  naturally  be  committed  to  the  care  of  a  ^0Sd  foi- 
superior  driver ;  and  as  superior  drivers  came  to  be  employed,  J^^16  rof 
the  stringency  of  the  police  regulations  must  be  relaxed.     In  restric- 
the  same  event,  it  is  probable  that  the  public  would  not  ob- 
ject to  such  an  alteration  in  the  arrangement  as  to  fares,  as 
would  give  the  hackney-carriage  owner  a  better  return  for 
his  money  than  he  can  expect  to  obtain  whilst  the  present 
badly-appointed  vehicles  are  alone  employed.     The  loss  to 
the  revenue  of  the  amount  derived  from  this  duty  would  not 
be  felt,  whilst  the  relief  to  the  trade  and  the  advantage  to 
the  public  would  be  very  considerable.     On  every  ground, 
therefore,  the  hackney-carriage  trade  should  be  advised  to 
aim  at  objects  which  would  improve  their  position  by  un- 
shackling their  trade,  rather  than  at  objects  which  would 
merely  place  them  in  additional  antagonism  to  their  custom- 
ers— with  whom  they  are  already  too  much  at  war. 

The  revenue  received  by  the  Excise  from  Licences  for  the 
privilege  of  carrying  on  a  trade,  has  been  gradually  increas- 
ing  with  the  increased  trade  of  the  country,  and  now  amounts  TIFICATES. 
to  nearly  1,500,0002.  a  year.  The  principal  traders  who  are 
required  to  be  licensed  are  auctioneers,  brewers,  publicans, 
and  beer  retailers,  maltsters,  paper-makers,  soap-makers,  dis- 
tillers, spirit-dealers,  postmasters,  tea  and  coffee  dealers,  to- 
bacco manufacturers  and  dealers,  and  vinegar  makers.  More 
than  half  the  amount  received  from  licences  is  derived  from 
the  publicans  alone,  whose  licences  in  1860  brought  776,3482. 
to  the  revenue.  The  licence  duties  paid  by  the  paper-makers, 
soap-makers,  and  vinegar  dealers  are  merely  remnants  of  the 
old  system ;  and  as  the  Excise  on  those  articles  has  been  re- 
moved, these  licence  duties  might  be  removed  also,  especially 
as  their  produce  is  very  trifling. 

The  following  tabular  statement  will  exhibit,  better  than  Kates  of 
they  could  otherwise  be  shown,  the  rates  of  duty  levied  in  L?cencesf°r 
respect  of  licences  : — 


104: 

CHAP.  V. 


ON  TAXATION. 


goo          v — 
^0)0 

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S  3 


H      •* 


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O>  "^  ^O 

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£  a 

10         05_ 

t-T    <yT 


«§  s   -   .2  .2  §  S 
P  5S-?S 


[SEC.  I. 


o    q    «rt 

B  S 

^  ^ 


g  ***      •*  S 
S  S  3  -i  ^  ^ 

S2^"^3 

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^    §    ^ 


s  ^ 


s  :| 

ill 

^pqwS^caPca' 


St 
H 


SEO.  I.]  EXCISE  DUTIES.  105 

It  will,  probably,  be  thought  that  these  rates  of  duty  are  CHAP.  V. 
very  anomalous,  both  as  to  their  amounts  and  as  to  the  form     Anoma- 
in  which  the  duties  are  assessed.     Why  should  a  tobacconist  nature  and 
pay  68.  3d.  for  his  licence,  and  a  tea  dealer  11*.  6 \d.  1    Why 
should  one  tradesman  be  assessed  at  10Z.,  another  at  61.  5s.,tion- 
and  another  at  U.  4s.  ?    Why  should  one  class  be  assessed  at 
an  uniform  rate,  and  another  according  to  a  scale  propor- 
tioned to  the  extent  of  their  business  ?     If  one  class  of  traders 
is  taxed  according  to  the  rental  of  his  premises,  why  not 
another?     In  some  trades  it  will  be  observed  that  the  cost  of 
a  licence  is  very  trifling,  whilst  in  other  businesses  it  seems 
inordinately  heavy.     When  we  observe  that  out  of  29,000 
assessments    to    the  post-horse  duty,  no    less   than  26,711 
licences  are  taken  out  in   a  form  authorizing  the  parties  to 
afford  only  temporary   accommodation,  there   would   seem 
reason  to  think  that  there  is  something  very  wrong  in  the 
taxation  which  induces  so  large  and  disproportionate  a  num- 
ber of  persons  to  resort  only  to  a  temporary  expedient,  in- 
stead of  taking  out  a  permanent  licence  to  let  a  horse. 

In  so  far  as  traders*  licences  are  a  means  of  raising  revenue,  Eecon- 
their  principle  is  open  to  grave  doubt.  But,  at  any  rate,  if 
they  must  be  continued  for  that  object,  it  is  certain  that  they 
ought  to  be  placed  on  a  sound  footing,  and  that,  so  far  as 
possible,  they  ought  to  be  equally  applied.  There  would 
certainly  seem  to  be  reason  to  think  that  the  whole  system 
requires  consideration,  both  as  regards  the  application  of  its 
principle  and  detail. 

A  very  large  portion  of  this  licensing  system  is,  however,  Public- 
maintained,  not  for  purposes  of  the  revenue  so  much  as  for  censing, 
purposes  of  police  regulation.  The  public-house  licensing  is 
entirely  of  this  nature  :  but  this  system  opens  considerations 
of  so  large  and  complicated  a  character,  as  to  be  quite  beyond 
the  space  that  can  here  be  afforded  for  its  discussion. 
Whether  it  is  indispensable  or  desirable  that  a  publican 
should  be  obliged  to  obtain  his  licence  by  application  to  the 
magistracy,  may  admit  of  question.  Whether  the  system 
under  which  these  licences  have  been  granted  or  refused,  has 
or  has  not  been  greatly  abused,  may  also  be  a  matter  of 
debate.  But  one  thing  is  certain,  that  any  restriction  upon 


106  ON  TAXATION.  [Sao.  I. 

C^ZlVt  *ke  number  of  public  houses  must  have  a  tendency  to  make 

This  the  liquor  trade  a  monopoly  in  the  hands  of  a  comparatively 

creative  of  few  great  capitalists,  and  thereby  to  raise  the  price  of  the 

jymonopo-  commo(jjties  vended  to  the  public.     If  we  desire  to  effect  a 

reduction  in  the  price  of  beer,  our  best  chance  of  obtaining  it 

is,  not  by  a  reduction  of  the  malt  duty,  which  would  only  go 

into  the  pockets  of  the  brewers,  but  by  a  removal  of  the 

restrictions  upon  the  vend  of  beer,  which,  by  affording  more 

scope  for  competition  in  its  sale,  would  have  the  effect  of 

reducing  the  price.     So  long  as,  under  the  licensing  system, 

the  number  of  public  houses  is  limited,  so  long  will  the  vend 

of  beer  continue  in  the  hands  of  those  who  have  a  direct 

interest  in  maintaining  its  price  at  the  highest  point. 

The  in-     The  Commissioners  of  Inland  Revenue  are  not  insensible 

nue  Com"  to  the  evils  which  attend  the  existing  system  of  licensing 


Li-  P"110^0  houses.     In  one  of  their  recent  reports  to  the  Treasury, 
^iey  say  '  "  Whenever  ^  may  appear  right  to  your  Lordships 
"  to  submit  to  Parliament  a  measure  for  amending  that  sys- 
"  tern,  we  trust  that  no  attempt  may  be  made  to  restrict  the 
"  number  of  licensed  houses,  either  by  any  arbitrary  rule,  or 
"  by  conferring  on  the  magistrates  large  discretionary  powers. 
Eestric-  "  We  are  not  left  to  conjecture  to  foretel  the  results  of  all 
the  8  nnm-  "  such  attempts  to  enforce  temperance  on  the  lower  classes. 


"  Glasgow  and  Edinburgh,  since  the  passing  of  the  Act  of 
not  condu-"  1853,*  have  furnished  abundant  evidence  that  it  is  not  by 

cive  to  tern-  ' 

perance.     "  such  means  as  these  that  the  habits  of  a  population  can  be 

"  changed,  and  that  the  restrictions  in  force  have  increased 

"  the  evils  which  they  were  intended  to  remedy." 

Beer-shop     The  Act  of  1830,  under  which  licences  were  permitted  to 

Licences.   ^Q  granted  by  the  Excise  Department  for  the  sale  of  beer 

(alone)  by  retail,  was  intended,  at  the  time  it  was  passed,  to 

open  the  trade  in  beer.     In  that  respect,  however,  it  has  not 

been  so  successful  as  jnight  have  been  desired  :  especially  in 

the  metropolis  and  large  towns,  where  the  rents  are  generally 


*  Known  in  Scotland  as  Forbes  Mackenzie's  or  Lord  Kinnaird's  Act;— an  Act 
having  for  its  object  to  enforce  temperance  on  the  people  of  that  country,  by 
putting  restrictions  on  the  sale  of  liquors. 


SEO.  I.J  EXCISE  DUTIES.  107 

too  high  in  the  main  thoroughfares  to  permit  houses  to  be  CHAP,  v. 

opened  for  the  sale  only  of  beer,  according  to  the  limitations 

of  the  Act.     But  besides  this  practical  difficulty,  the  Inland    Opposed 

T)V  tllG 

Revenue  Commissioners  report,  that  in  administering  this  clergy  and 

enactment,  they  find  themselves  "  constantly  in  opposition  to  JJau».~ 

"  the  clergy  and  magistrates,  who  consider  the  licensed  beer- 

"  shop  a  dangerous  nuisance  to  a  neighbourhood,  and  call 

"  upon  us  to  aid  them  in  suppressing  it !"     "So  determined 

"  are  they  in  their  hostility  to  the  measure,  that  they  have 

"  resorted  to   most   unusual   proceedings   for   defeating  its 

"  operations ;    and  we  have  been  obliged  to  take  steps  to 

"  defend   the  law,    and,   incidentally,   the  trades   who   are 

u  licensed  under  its  provisions."     "  In  one  of  the  principal    obstruc- 

"  towns  in  England,  the  overseers  of  the  poor,  acting  under  J^to0  the 

"the   direction  of  the  local  magistrates,  have  persisted  in Jj° ensij|er 

"  refusing  to  sign  the  certificate  which  the  law  requires  the  shops. 

"  beer  retailer  to  obtain,  to  the  effect  that  he  is  the  resident 

"  occupier  of  the  house  in  which  he  intends  to  carry  on  his 

"  business.     As   no  licence  can  be  granted  by  us   without 

"  satisfactory  evidence  -of  this  fact,  and  as  the  overseers  are 

"  directed  by  the  Act  to  furnish  that  evidence,  they  expected 

"  that  by  their  refusal  they  would  prevent  the  issue  of  any 

"  licences,  in  their  district,  to  this  class  of  trades.     We  have, 

"  however,  obtained  the  requisite  proof  in  another  way,  and 

"  thus  have  maintained  the  principle  on  which  the  Retail 

"  Beer   Acts   are   founded — namely,  the  exemption  of  the 

"  trade  from  that  arbitrary  control  of  the  magistracy,  which 

"  is  permitted  by  the  laws  relating  to  publicans."     (7  Kept. 

Commis.  In.  Rev.  p.  19.) 

Where  the  heads  of  a  Government  department  are  thus  Unsound- 
found  condemning  the  conduct  of  the  administrators  of  the  existing*  e 
law,  on  matters  involving  its  administration,  we  may  be  sure  system- 
that  the  law  itself  must,  in  some  way,  be  unsound.     It  may 
be  that,  in  consequence  of  the  decline  of  party  spirit  and  the 
advanced  political  intelligence  of  the  day,  the  licensing  of 
public-houses  may  have  been  less  abused  by  the  magistracy 
recently  than  it  was  some  years  back ;  but  there  is  nothing 
to  prevent  a  recurrence  to  the  system  under  which  many  a 
man  has  been  refused  or  has  lost  his  licence  in  consequence 


108  ON  TAXATION.  [Sac.  I. 

CHAP.  V.  of  his  political  opinions,  to  the  injury  both  of  the  individual 
and  of  the  State  which  lost  the  revenue  which  would  have 
resulted  from  his  licence.  Strong  as  the  magistracy  are  in 
Parliament,  let  us  hope,  with  the  Commissioners  of  Inland 
Revenue,  that  a  recurrence  to  such  abuses  may  be  checked, 
and  that  in  future  "  no  attempt  may  be  made  to  restrict  the 
"  number  of  licensed  houses,  either  by  any  arbitrary  rule, 
"or  by  conferring  on  the  magistrates  large  discretionary 
"  powers." 
LICENCES  The  amount  received  from  "  Licences  and  Certificates," 

TIFIOATES.  accrues  from  payments  from  attorneys,  appraisers,  bankers, 
conveyancers,  hackney-carriage  drivers,  hawkers  and  pedlars, 
medicine  vendors,  pawnbrokers,  and  plate  dealers.  The 

Attorneys,  attorneys'  certificate  duty  was  reduced  25  per  cent,  in  1853, 
and  is  not  now  complained  of.  The  tax  upon  hackney  and 

Drivers,  stage-carriage  drivers  in  the  metropolis,  produces  less  than 
3,OOOZ.,  and  ought  to  be  remitted.  It  is  very  doubtful  whether 

Hawkers,  that  upon  hawkers  and  pedlars  ought  not  to  be  taken  off  also. 
It  had  its  origin  in  the  idea,  that  the  public  interest  is  bene- 
fited by  protecting  shopkeepers  against  itinerant  dealers; 
but  in  remote  country  districts,  the  trade  carried  on  by  the 
modern  Autolycus,  is  very  convenient  to  the  public,  and 
although  the  duty  has  been  recently  reduced,*  there  really 
seems  no  good  reason  for  putting  this  petty  tax  on  industry. 
Patent  In  the  same  way  the  patent  medicine  vendors'  licence,  which 

Vendors,  only  produces  about  5,OOOZ.  a  year,  should  be  abolished. 
This  duty  is  the  more  ridiculous,  inasmuch  as  we  put  a  duty 
upon  patent  medicines  themselves,  and  are  therefore  limiting 
the  opportunity  of  selling  the  very  articles  from  which  we 
seek  to  derive  taxation.  The  evasions  of  this  duty  have  been 
so  numerous,  that  the  prosecutions  for  selling  medicines  with- 
out licence  have  exceeded  100  yearly  ! 


*  Prior  to  1861  the  duty  was  U  per  annum  for  each  licence,  and  4Z.  for  each 
horse,  if  a  horse  was  used  in  the  business.  In  1861  the  duty  was  reduced  one-half, 
and  it  was  arranged  that  licences  could  be  taken  out  for  six  months.  This  will  no 
doubt  be  a  boon  to  the  hawker ;  though  there  seems  small  reason  for  retaining  the 
tax  at  all. 


SKO.  I.]  EXCISE  DUTIES.  109 

We  have  abolished  the  stamp  on  newspapers,  and  the  CHAP.  V. 
amount  which  is  now  contributed  to  the  stamp  revenue  in  that  Newspap- 
form  is  only  the  amount  received  for  stamps  in  lieu  of  postage  er 
payment.     The  amount  is  gradually  declining,  and  is  likely 
to  do  so  as  facilities  are  afforded  of  obtaining  papers  of  the 
news-agents  at  railway  stations. 

Mr.  Gladstone,  in  1859,  made  many  alterations  in  the  Recent 
stamp  duties,  chiefly  on  the  principle  of  reducing  the  heavier  l^Q  ^stamp0 
rates  of  duty,  and  applying  the  principle  of  an  uniform  penny  r>utie8- 
stamp  to  a  multitude  of  every-day  transactions,  such  as  orders 
for  delivery  or  transfer  of  goods  from  a  port  or  dock,  notes 
for  sale  or  purchase  of  stock  and  shares,  extracts  from  regis- 
ters of  births,  deaths,  and  marriages,  &c.  The  complaints 
made  of  some  of  these  duties  showed  that  the  principle  might 
be  carried  too  far.  Those  complaints  were  not  of  the  amount 
payable  for  the  stamp,  but  of  the  trouble  occasioned  by  ap- 
plying it  to  a  large  number  of  petty  documents.  The  dock  stamps  on 
order  stamp  appears  to  have  been  regarded  as  a  special  Notes*1 
annoyance.  Not  so  the  stamp  upon  extracts  from  registers, 
which  appeared  as  if  it' gave  a  sort  of  validity  to  the  docu- 
ment. The  distinction  seems  to  illustrate  the  different 
circumstances  under  which  the  smaller  stamp  duties  can  be 
applied,  and  those  in  which  they  cannot.  In  the  case  of  a 
cheque  upon  a  banker,  which  we  draw  as  rarely  as  possible, 
and  which  represents  on  the  average  a  tolerable  amount  of 
money,  a  penny  stamp  will  not  be  regarded  as  any  infliction, 
but  where  we  come  to  "an  order  for  the  delivery  of  goods  of 
the  value  of  4s.  or  upwards,"  the  annoyance  will  probably 
cause  a  very  general  neglect  of  the  law,  or  some  ready  means 
of  evading  it.  In  the  case  of  the  penny  receipt  stamp,  some 
recent  proceedings  before  the  city  magistrates  respecting  the 
conduct  of  trade  by  the  butchers  of  the  metropolis,  show  the 
impossibility  of  enforcing  the  use  of  the  stamp  in  cases  where 
even  considerable  amounts  of  goods  are  passing  from  one 
hand  to  another. 

Some  of  the  smaller  duties  have  been  still  more  recently   Duties  on 
revised.     A  duty  upon  dice,  remitted  1862,  has  for  many 
years  past  had  the  ludicrous  result  of  producing  5s.  per  annum 
for  the  issue  of  a  licence  to  make  dice,  and  from  30Z.  to  40£. 


HO  ON  TAXATION.  [Sue.  I. 

OHAP/V.  a  year  for  the  duty  on  dice  levied  at  \l.  a  pair.  Gambling 
is,  happily,  no  longer  a  fashion  in  this  country,  and  dice,  of 
late  years,  have  only  been  used  for  innocent  games.  Under 
the  late  law  every  person  having  unstamped  dice  in  his  pos- 
session was  liable  to  a  penalty  of  5Z.  for  each  pair !  But 
stamped  dice  could  not  be  obtained.  Every  one  who  possessed 
dice  (even  Cabinet  Ministers  and  Commissioners  of  Inland 
Revenue)  purchased  square  pieces  of  ivory  for  a  few  pence, 
and  marked  them  for  themselves.  Few  persons  knew  that 
they  were  evading  the  law  thereby  ;  or  that  they  were  ren- 
dering themselves  liable  to  penalties.  Yet  the  practice  was 
and  Plav-  universal.  As  regards  packs  of  cards,  the  regulations  imposed 
ing  Cards.  ^  a  num];>er  Of  complicated  Acts  of  Parliament  were  so 
stringent,  that,  legally,  cards  could  scarcely  either  be  made 
or  sold.  Nevertheless,  for  many  years  past  they  have  been 
hawked  about  the  streets  (at  Christmas  time  especially)  un- 
stamped and  without  licence ;  and  the  manufacture  of  cards 
for  exportation  was  so  nourishing,  that  nearly  half  a  million 
packs  of  cards  were  estimated  to  be  surreptitiously  made  for 
exportation  at  the  time  the  duty  was  reduced.  All  this  de- 
monstrates the  absurdity  of  high  duties  upon  trifling  articles. 
They  are  ineffectual  for  the  purposes  of  revenue,  and  far  more 
so  for  the  promotion  of  morality. 


CHAPTER  YI. 

THE     ASSESSED     TAXES. 

PKOBABLY  there  is  as  little  objection  to  be  taken,  in  prin-  CHAP.  VI. 
ciple,  to  our  system  of  Assessed  Taxes,  as  to  most  modes  of   Principle 
taxation.     They  may  press  somewhat  unequally  upon  par-  tf^of  Tax- 
ticular  individuals,  but,  generally,  they  bear  a  tolerably  just atlon- 
proportion  to  the  means  of  those  on  whom  they  are  levied. 
They  have  the  advantage  of  being  self-incurred  by  the  tax- 
payer, in  many  cases,  to  gratify  his  own  taste  for  display  or 
luxury.*     The  rate  at  which  these  taxes  are  assessed,  is  too 
easy  to  discourage  expenditure,  or  to  make  them  a  burden  or 
infliction.     The  consequence  is,  that  the  Assessed  Taxes  are 
amongst  those  which  are  most  cheerfully  paid  and  most  easily 
collected. 

In  1853,  the  rates  of  duty  levied  under  the  assessed  taxes      Eecent 
were  considerably  reduced,  and  were  rendered  more  simple  of  rates° 
and  uniform  by  the  abolition  of  progressive  duties  and  of 
several  exemptions.     The  superior  advantage  of  a  moderate    Result, 
scale  of  duty,  in  comparison  with  a  high  scale,  is  remark- 
ably illustrated  by  the  very  largely  increased,  and  the  still  in- 
creasing, number  of  articles  brought  to  charge.     The  follow- 
ing account  shows  that  the  servants  have  nearly  doubled ; 


*  The  Financial  Eeform  Association  of  Liverpool  object  to  the  Assessed  Taxes 
on  this  very  ground.  They  say  :  "These  taxes  are  objectionable,  because  they 
' '  are  founded  on  a  principle  which  is  vicious,  though  it  is  often  pleaded  in  their 
"justification — viz.,  that  a  man  need  not  pay  them  unless  he  chose  to  use  the 
"  articles  taxed.  Under  a  system  of  sound  taxation,  payment  towards  the  national 
"  burdens  ought  not  to  be  a  matter  of  choice  ;  all  should  contribute  equally,  ac- 
"  cording  to  their  means."  Most  people,  however,  will  think  that  this  is  carrying 
the  direct  taxation  principle  too  far — that  it  is  riding  the  hobby  a  little  too  fast  to 
say,  that  no  man  shall  contribute  more  than  another  towards  the  national  taxation, 
if  he  chooses  to  do  so. 


112  ON  TAXATION.  [SKO.  I 

CHAP^VL  the  carriages  nearly  trebled  ;  the  horses  risen  from  319,000 
Increase  in  to  561,000.  and  that  there  has  been  an  increase  on  every 

the  number  .,  ,  .  ,      ,         ,  _  v      _..   ,  . 

of  articles  item  on  which  the  duty  was  reduced.*  Making  allowance 
t0  f°r  tne  abolition  of  the  exemptions^  and  for  the  application  of 
the  duties  on  the  reduced  scale  to  sundry  new  items,  this  result 
affords  satisfactory  proof  that  people  will  not  object  to  assess 
themselves  to  the  taxation  of  the  nation,  provided  the  rate  is 
within  their  means. 

No.  of  NUMBER  OF  ARTICLES  ASSESSED. 

articles  as- 
sessed. 


ARTICLES  ASSESSED. 

Servants  

1854, 

LAST  YEAR  OF 
THE  OLD  DUTIES. 

.       .           125  926 

1S56, 

FIRST  COMPLETE 
TEAR  OF  NEW 
DUTIES. 

209,465 

1861, 

LAST  YEAR  OF 
WHICH  WE   HAVE 
THE   ACCOUNT. 

241  519 

Carriages  

92,437 

225,717 

264717 

Horses  

.  .  319,416 

498,254 

561  274 

Dosrs 

322  855 

328  408 

3S6  693 

Horsedealers  

898 

980 

1  115 

Hair-powder              . 

1,440 

1  043 

972 

Armorial  Bearings  .  . 

.    40,167 

39,191 

47,279 

The   re-     The  revenue  does  not  suffer  from  the  reductions  of  duty. 
Revenue'!16  The  last  year  under  the  old  duty,  the  assessed  taxes  produced 
2,021,5222.;  in  1861  they  produced  2,141,4:T^.t 

The  items  of  which  this  taxation  is  composed  call  for  little 
THE  DOG-  remark.     The  dog-tax  is  the  most  difficult  to  collect ;  and  is 

TAX. 

the  item  on  which  it  will  be  seen  that  the  increase  is  the 
smallest.  The  tax  is,  no  doubt,  used  as  a  means  of  punishing 
poachers;  but,  as  a  rule,  it  falls  upon  persons  who  can  afford 
to  keep  fancy  dogs,  and  it  may  be  doubted  if  it  is  desirable 
to  encourage  the  canine  fancy  by  any  remission  of  this  duty. 


*  The  duty  imposed  on  each  individual  who  wear-  hair-powder  was  not  reduced, 
and  it  will  be  observed  that  the  amount  received  from  that  item  of  taxation  has 
gradually  diminished.  The  duty  is  dying  out  with  those  antiquated  persons  who 
persist  in  the  use  of  this  once-prevailing  fashion.  It  is  curious  to  observe  with 
what  regularity  the  number  of  assessments  to  this  duty  annually  diminishes :  and 
it  is  also  curious  to  reflect  how  taxation  may  even  influence  fashion.  The  great  dig- 
nitaries of  the  Church  now  wear  their  natural  hair,  and  even  the  judges  have 
ceased  to  powder  theirs. 

t  Including  the  revenue  from  game  certificates  and  licences,  which  were  in- 
cluded in  this  revenue  under  the  old  scale,  but  which  have  recently  been  received 
by  the  Excise  Department. 


SBC.  L]  ASSESSED  TAXES. 

The  Inland  Revenue  Commissioners  say  that  they  are  over-  CHAP.  vi. 
whelmed  with  cases  of  arrears  for  the  duty  on  dogs,  and  are 
obliged,  in  a  vast  number  of  instances,  to  give  up  their 
claim  on  the  ground  of  poverty ;  but  it  is  fair  to  observe  on 
this,  that  a  dog  is  not  a  necessity,  and  that  its  cost  of  keep 
must  detract  from  the  maintenance  of  a  poor  family. 

The  house-tax,  which  was  substituted  for  the  window-tax  THE 
in  1857;  is  in  every  respect  preferable  in  principle  to  that 
most  obnoxious  and  obstructive  charge.  The  window-tax  an  excei- 
offered  an  obstacle  to  improved  design  in  architecture  and 
building  ;  it  obstructed  light  and  air,  and  thereby  detrac 
from  health  and  comfort,  and  fell  with  undue  pressure  on  the 
small  occupier.  The  number  of  windows  in  a  house  afforded 
a  very  imperfect  criterion  of  its  annual  value  ;  and  the  mode 
of  assessment,  on  a  scale  in  which  the  rate  gradually  dimin- 
ished as  the  number  of  windows  increased,  made  the  pressure 
of  the  tax  unequal.  The  house-tax,  on  the  other  hand,  is 
one  of  the  most  equitable  of  taxes,  inasmuch  as  rent  is,  in 
almost  all  cases,  a  criterion  of  a  man's  means,  and  also  be- 
cause its  amount  is '  almost  always  ascertainable  with  cer- 
tainty. A  house-tax,  in  fact,  is  only  objectionable  where  the  Desira- 
rate  of  duty  is  too  high.  In  that  case  it  will  fall,  not  upon  keeping 
the  occupier,  from  whom  it  is  intended  to  be  levied,  but  upon 
the  landlord,  who  will  be  compelled  to  dimmish  his  rent,  in 
consequence  of  the  discouragement  given  to  the  occupation 
of  highly-rented  houses,  and  the  consequent  demand  for 
them.  Such  a  result  would  diminish  the  capital  and  labour 
employed  in  building  operations,  and,  by  compelling  persons 
to  occupy  inferior  houses,  would  diminish  their  comforts  and 
deteriorate  their  habits.  The  house-duty  should,  therefore, 
always  be  upon  a  moderate  scale,  and  within  the  means  of 
the  people.  An  attempt  to  put  it  too  higji  would  lead  to  great  The  old 
agitation  against  it,  as  occurred  in  1834,  when  the  inhabitants 
of  London  went  in  procession  to  Downing  Street,  and  forced 1834- 
the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  to  repeal  the  then  existing 
house-tax  ;  which,  on  houses  of  40Z.  a  year  and  upwards,  had, 
from  the  year  1808  to  1834,  been  levied  at  no  less  than 
2s.  ~LQd.  in  the  pound — that  rate,  levied  as  war  tax,  having 

8 


114  ON  TAXATION.  [SEC.  I 


AP/VI.  been  continued  for  no  less  than  twenty  years  after  the  con- 
clusion of  the  Peace.* 

The  tax  at  present  levied  upon  houses  is  at  the  rate  of  6d.  in 
Thepre-  the  pound  on  houses  worth  the  rent  of  20Z.  a  year,  if  occupied 

sent  House  .  / 

tax.  as   shops,    as   farmhouses,  or  by  persons  licensed  to  retail 

liquors  ;  9d.  in  the  pound  if  occupied  in  any  other  manner. 

This  tax  is  moderate,  and  the  only  objection  to  it  would  seem 

to  be  the  differential  rate  in  favour  of  shops  and  farmhouses. 

Mr.D'is-In  1852,  the  very  first  year  of  its  operation,  Mr.  D'Israeli 

discreet    "proposed  to  extend  this  tax  to  houses  of  10?.  annual  value, 

extendaand  and  to  double  its  amount  —  a  very  indiscreet  proposal,  and 

double  it.   one  whicn  operated  disadvantageously  to  the  revenue  :  for  in 

fear  of  so  heavy  an  increased  assessment,  the  public  began 

instantly  to  put  down  the  value  of  their  houses,  so  that  the 

revenue  from  the  tax  fell  off  for  the  next  two  years.     Mr. 

D'Israeli's  Budget,  however,  was  not  adopted,  and,  the  panic- 

having  abated,  the  revenue  from  the  tax  began  to  rise.     Its 

Produce  produce  has  been,  — 

of          the1 
House-tax. 


1852 £727,027 

1853 693,736 

1854 650,537 

1855 728,969 

1856 728,526 


1857 £754,213 

1858 763,941 

1859 796,910 

1860 822,984 

1861 826,730 


Any  ad-     There  can  be  no  doubt  that  this  tax  affords  means,  here- 
this°n   tax  after,  of  increasing  our  revenue.     The  additions  made  to  it 


mils*?  however,  be  neither  rash  nor  sudden.     They  should  be 
and  gradu-  moderate,  gradual,  proportioned  to  the  increased  prosperity 
of  the  community,  and  so  carefully  made  as  not  to  disturb  the 
relations  between  landlord  and  tenant. 


*  The  rate  of  duty  in  1834  was  Is.  &d.  in  the  pound,  on  houses  of  the  yearly  rent 
of  51.  and  under  20?. ;  2s.  3rf.  in  the  pound,  on  houses  of  20?.  and  under  40?. ;  and 
2s.  IQd.  on  houses  of  40?.  and  upwards.  It  was  an  unduly  high  rate  of  assess- 
.  ment,  and  was  justly  objected  to.  Lord  Althorp,  however,  would  have  acted 
with  more  wisdom,  if,  instead  of  totally  repealing  the  house-tax  in  1854,  he  had 
repealed  the  window-tax,  and  reduced  the  tax  on  houses.  But  he  was  afraid  of 
the  popular  clamour,  and  of  the  advantage  which  might  be  taken  of  it  by  the 
party  opposed  to  the  Administration  of  which  he  was  a  member.  Sir  E.  Peel  ob- 
served of  a  house-tax  that  "  it  partook  of  the  nature  of  a  property-tax  "without  its 
inquisitorial  character,"  and  that  "  it  fell  much  more  on  the  higher  than  on  the 
lower  classes." 


SBC.  I,]  ASSESSED    TAXES.  115 

A  tax  which  presents  very  different  features  is  a  tax  of  CHAP.  vi. 
which  we  hear  very  little,  for  reasons  which  will  explain         -THE 
themselves,  but  which  occurs  in  our  public  accounts  under   AND"1 
the  name  of  the  Land-tax.     The  land-tax,  for  a  series  of  years 
past,  has  been  mixed  up  in  the  public  accounts  with  the  as- 
sessed taxes,  so  that  for  a  long  term  the  amount  of  the  one 
was  quite  undistinguishable  from  the  amount  of  the  other. 
As,  comparatively,  very  few  persons  have  ever  suffered  from 
the  burden  of  the  land-tax,  an  inquiry  will,  no  doubt,  be  made 
as  to  its  nature  and  character.     It  is  quite  right  that  the 
public,  who  pay  the  house-tax,  should  have  a  full  knowledge 
of  what  is  the  land-tax ;  for,  certainly,  it  appears  reasonable 
if  houses  are  assessed  at  their  rentals,  that  land  should  be 
assessed  at  its  rental  also. 

In  the  first  year  after  the  "  Great  and  Glorious"  Revolution,"  History  of 
which  was  brought  about  in  England  in  1688,*  a  tax  was  tax. 
imposed  upon  the  land  of  the  country,  to  be  levied,  as  a  sub- 
sequent enactment  defined,  on  "  all  manors,  messuages,  lands, 
"and  tenements,  as  also  on  all  quarries,  mines  of  coal,  tin 
"  and  lead,  copper,  mundic,  and  other  minerals,  iron  works, 
"  salt  springs  and  salt  works,  alum  mines  and  works,  pas- 
"  tures,  chases,  warrens,  woods,  underwoods,  coppices ;  all 
"  fishings,  tithes,  tolls,  annuities,  and  other  yearly  profits,  and 
"  all  hereditaments  of  what  nature  or  kind  soever."  The  tax 
was  assessed  at  4s.  in  the  pound,  and  it  produced  in  1690,  the 
first  year  of  its  operation,  no  less  than  1,922,OOOZ.  to  the 
revenue. 

This  tax  was  reimposed  in  1692  upon  a  new  valuation, 
made  in  that  year,  of  the  landed  property  of  the  country ; 
and  it  was  renewed  from  time  to  time  at  varying  rates, 
according  to  the.  necessities  of  the  country,  from  1692  to 


*  Blackstone  traces  the  land-tax  in  the  form  of  "  tenths,  subsidies,  hydages, 
"scutages,  and  talliages,"  from  the  time  of  Henry  II.,  "who  took  advantage  of  the 
"  fashionable  zeal  for  croisades  to  introduce  this  new  taxation."  These  subsidies 
ceased  with  the  Civil  War,  but  were  revived  by  King  William  III.,  for  the  purposes 
of  a  war  with  France,  in  the  form  of  a  land-tax.  In  1692  the  assessment  of  the  tax 
was  made  on  the  new  valuation  of  estates,  which,  Blackstone  observes,  was  "  by 
"  no  means  a  perfect  one." 


116  ON  TAXATION.  [SEC.  I. 

CHAP,  vi.  1798,  having,  in  the  interval,  been  extended  to  Scotland,  on 
Land-tax,  the  Union,  in  1708.     From  1776  to  1798,  it  appears,  however, 
to  have  been  a  fixed  charge,  producing  1,989,673/.  in  Eng- 
land, and  47,954Z.   in   Scotland:   total   for   Great  Britain, 
2,037,627Z.  a  year. 

Mr.  Pitt     In  1798,  Mr.  Pitt,  in  order  to  raise  money  to  carry  on  the 
perpetuaif  war  with  France,  induced  Parliament  to  pass  an  Act  which 
toredemp- mac^e   tne  land-tax  perpetual.     Subsequent  clauses  of  this 
tion.          Act  gave  the  owners  of  land  the  power  of  redeeming  the  tax 
by  one  fixed  payment ;  and  it  is  obvious  that  Mr.  Pitt's  idea 
was,  that  the  privilege  thus  conceded,  on  very  advantageous 
terms,  to  the  proprietors  of  land,  would  have  been   taken 
advantage  of,  to  the    entire  disappearance    of   the  impost. 
Interpre- Probably  such  would  have  been  the  case,  had  it  not  been  for 
upon*  the  an  interpretation  which  was  put  upon  the  Act.     One  clause 
UonTJt"    °f  tne  Act  appointed  Commissioners  "  to  assess  all  and  every 
"  the  said  manors,  &c.,  after  the  rate  of  4s.  for  every  20k  of 
"  the  full  yearly  value,  as  the  same  are  let  or  are  worth  to  be 
"  let  at  the  time  of  assessing  thereof  as  aforesaid  ;"  thereby 
showing  that  the  intention  was  to  take  the  value  on  an  esti- 
mate made  at  the  period  of  redemption.     Another  clause  of 
the  Act  provided  that  the  tax  "  on  all  hereditaments,  of  what 
"  kind  and  nature  soever,  shall  be  the  sum  of  4s.  for  every 
"  20<s.  of  the  year,  which  the  said  hereditaments,  &c.,  are 
"  NOW  worth  to  be  leased,"  &c.  ;  but,  despite  these  provisions, 
other  clauses  of  the  Act  have  been  taken  to  mean  that  the 
valuation  of  the  land  on  which  the  application  of  the  tax  was 
to  be  made  permanent,  was  to  be  the  valuation  then  in  force, 
— i.  <?.,  the  valuation  of  the  property  of  the  country  made  in 
1692! 

Conse-     The  effect  of  this  interpretation  was  unfavourable  to  Mr. 

urTof  the  Pitt's  proposal ;  because  it  was  a  better  operation  for  the 

tionempro-  landowners   to  pay  the  tax   annually,  from  the  additional 

ject.          profits  arising  from  the  increased  and  increasing  value  of 

their  land,  than  to  redeem  the  tax  even  on  the  valuation  of 

1692.     In  1853,  an  additional  temptation  was  afforded  for 

redemption  by  a  reduction,  to  the  extent  of  17£  per  cent., 

which  was  then  made  in  the  consideration  money  required 

for  the  redemption.     But  very  little  progress   was   made 


SKO.  I.]  ASSESSED  TAXES.  117 

towards  the  extinction  of  the  tax,  and  the  privilege  was  sub-  CHAP.  VI. 
sequently  withdrawn.     The  fact  appears  to  be,  that  the  tax  Land-tax. 
is  so  trifling  upon  the  value  of  land  at  the  present  time,  that, 
except  under  some  peculiar  circumstances  affecting  the  estates 
subject  to  the  impost,  the  riddance  of  the  charge  by  redemp- 
tion is  not  regarded  as  an  object  of  any  importance  by  the 
landowners. 

The  sum  received  from  this  tax  in  1861,  was  1,104,0777.  ^  .Land 
It  has  not  materially  varied  for  many  years.     But  the  ques-  unassessed 
tion  is  whether,  under  cover  of  this  old  tax,  the  land  of  _the  tionaftaxa- 
country  ought  to  go,  as  it  practically  does  go,  unassessed  totlon> 
the  taxation  of  the  nation  ?     Instead  of  4s.  in  the  pound  on 
land,  &c.,  this  tax  scarcely  amounts,  upon  many  actual  values, 
to  a  fraction  of  a  farthing.     In  districts   where  thousands 
upon  thousands  a  year  are  paid  to  the  income  tax,  the  amount 
received  into  the  Exchequer  from  the  land-tax,  is  represented 
by  a  ten-pound  note !     Upon  what  is  said  to  be  the  least- 
improved  land  in  England,  the  tax  only  amounts  to  Is.  *l\d. 
in  the  pound ;  whilst  on  some  of  the  most  improved  rentals, 
it  only  amounts  to  the  ninth  part  of  a  farthing  ?     Is  this  just  ? 
and  ought  it  to  be  permitted  to  continue  ? 

For  my  own  part,  despite  all  that  I  shall  hear  respecting 
the  necessity  of  keeping  the  public  faith  with  the  landowner, 
I  confess  that  I  regard  it  as  only  equitable  that  the  land 
should  bear«its  fair  proportion  of  the  levy  of  taxation. 


CHAPTER  YIL 


STAMP      DUTIES. 


CHAP.  vn.      STAMP  DUTIES  were  first  introduced  into  this  country  by 
History  of  King  William  III.  upon  a  principle  of  taxation  which  had 
anfie^!amp  previously  prevailed  in  Holland.     The  first  Act  imposed 
stamps  upon  grants  from  the  Crown,  diplomas,  contracts, 
probates,  writs,  and  proceedings  and  records  in  the  courts  of 
law  and  equity ;  and  gradually  the  system  was  extended. 
Stamp  duties  are  a  less  objectionable  mode  of  raising  reve- 
nue than  many  others  ;  but  there  have  been  duties  imposed 
in  this  form,  which  have  been  very  vexatious,  as  well  from 
their  petty  amount  as  from  the  mode  of  taking  them.     Dur- 
ing the  early  part  of  the  present  century,  these  duties  were 
.  carried  too  far.     There  was  a  stamp  duty  on  everything — 

down  to  soda-water  bottles. 

Recent  re-  Since  those  days  the  stamp  duties  have  been  reduced,  and 
these  du-  put  on  a  better  footing.  They  underwent  some  revision  be- 
tween 1849  and  1853,  and  have  since  been  gradually  increas- 
ing in  the  amount  they  bring  to  the  revenue.  The  amount, 
which  was  about  seven  millions  in  1852,  is  now  represented 
by  a  total  approaching  nine  millions,  derived  from  the  follow- 
ing items : — 

STAMP  DUTIES,  1861. 


ties. 


Legacy  and  Succession  Duty  .£2,277,724 

Fire  Insurance 1,611,681 

Probate  Duty  '. 1,419,166 

Deeds  and  Instruments 1,344.848 

Bills  of  Exchange 564,494 

Eeceipts  and  Drafts 439,445 

Marine  Insurance 339,043 

Licences  and  Certificates 246,787 

Newspapers 133,386 

Probate  Court  Fees 110,031 

Carried  forward, £8,486,605 


Brought  forward £8,486,605 

Patents  for  Inventions ,  102,052 

Bankers'  Notes,  &c 69,880 ' 

Gold  and  Silver  Plate 65,519 

Patent  Medicines 46,237 

Law,  Equity,  Exchequer,  and 

Chancery  Fund 44,177 

Cards  and  Dice 13,637 

Admiralty  Court  Fees 9,616 

Divorce  Court  Fee  Stamps 2,664 

£8,840,387 


SEC.  I.J  STAMP  DUTIES.  119 

The  tax  which,  during  the  last  few  years,  has  produced  the  CHAP,  vn. 
largest  amount  to  the  revenue  under  this  head,  is  the  Legacy    The  Le- 
and  Succession  Duty.     It  is  necessary,  in  treating  of  this  iuccession 
tax,  to  distinguish  between  the  Probate  and   the  Legacy  duty> 
duties.     The  Probate  duty  is  a  tax  paid  by  the  personal  re-distin- 
presentatives   of  deceased  persons,   according  to  the  gross  fromhe  the 
amount  left  by  the  deceased.     Probate  duty  is  a  tax  to  which  ^y.ate 
all  property  is  liable,  excepting  real  estate.     It  is  assessed  on 
a  graduated  scale,  which  imposes  the  tax  at  a  reduced  rate  as 
the  property  left  increases  in  value ;  and  in  so  far,  the  tax 
is  unjust  in  its  application  to  inheritors  of  the  smaller  pro- 
perties. 

The  Legacy  duty  is  a  tax  over  and  above  the  probate  duty, 
paid  by  persons  who  succeed  to  property,  at  a  rate  per  cent., 
which  varies  according  to  their  relationship  to  the  testator. 
A  duty  on  legacies  was  first  imposed  in  1780,  when  stamps  History  of 
were  required  on  receipts  for  legacies.  These  were  in-  duty-68*0*" 
creased  in  1783,  and  again  in  1789,  but  this  mode  of  charg- 
ing the  duty  was  discovered  to  be  a  mistake,  in  consequence 
of  a  case  in  which  it  was  judicially  held,  that  where  "  no 
receipt  was  given,  no  duty  was  payable."  In  consequence 
of  this,  an  Act  was  passed,  in  1796,  by  which  the  duty  was 
imposed  on  the  legacy  instead  of  the  receipt ;  but  this  Act 
confined  the  duty  to  legacies  of  personal  estate.  Mr.  Pitt,  Mr.  Pitt's 
at  the  same  time,  proposed  a  Bill  for  similar  duties  on  lega-  Of  17%. 
cies  charged  upon,  and  devises  of,  Teal  estate;  but  this 
measure  was  opposed  in  the  House  of  Commons,  and  with- 
drawn upon  one  of  its  last  stages,  being  carried  only  by  the 
Speaker's  casting  vote.  The  consequence  was,  that  whilst  a 
person  of  the  middling  class,  who  died  and  left  his  family  a 
bare  provision,  was  heavily  taxed  by  both  the  Probate  and 
Legacy  duties,  a  landed  proprietor,  who  left  freehold  estates, 
of  whatsoever  value,  escaped  paying  duty  upon  either. 

In  1853,  Mr.  Gladstone  proposed  to  extend  the  legacy  duty  Mr.  Giad- 

,  ,  -5..,.  ,.  stone's  ex- 

to   real  estate ;  but — refining,  in  his  peculiar  manner,  on  tension  of 
imaginary  distinctions — he  proposed  the   establishment    ofjggg    uty' 
differential  rates  of  duty,  between  what  he  termed  "  rateable 
and  non-rateable  property,"  "  absolute  interests  and  life  in- 
terests," "  direct  and  non-direct  successions,"  &c.     It  is  diffi- 


120  ON  TAXATION.  [SEC.  I. 

CHAP,  vii.  cult,  if  not  impossible,  to  explain  the  intention  of  these  pecu- 
its  effects,  liar  distinctions.    The  legal  questions  which  have  arisen  under 
the  Act,  in  consequence  of  such  refinements,  and  from  other 
causes,  have  been  very   numerous  and  complicated.     The 
litigation  is,  however,  far  less  extraordinary  than  the  result 
of  this  extension  of  the  tax.     Mr.  Gladstone  estimated,  in 
1853,  that  his  new  duty  would  add  2,000,0002.  to  the  revenue. 
The  Controller  of  the  Legacy  and  Succession  Duties  estimated, 
that  u  if  no  disturbing  causes  should  occur,  these  duties  would 
"  reach  a  sum  of  2,500,0002.  in  twelve  years  from  1853." 
The  tax,  however,  has  had  no  such  results.     The  average  re- 
Compara- ceipt  from  the  old  legacy  duty  in  1853,  was  1,300,0002.     In 
amount  of  1856,  at  the  end  of  three  years  after  the  extension  of  the  tax, 
resulting    *ne  j°mt  produce  of  the  legacy  and  succession  duties  was 
only  1>864,0002.     ID  tne  Jear  ending  31st  March,  1862,  the 
joint  produce  was  2,266,0002. ;  so  that,  allowing  1,674,0002. 
for  the  produce  of  the  legacy  duty  upon  personal  property, 
the  extension  to  real  estate  only  resulted  in  producing  about 
600,0002. 

this  Mr.  Gladstone  attributes  this  disappointment  to  the  great 
ly  account-  number  of  cases  in  which  real  property  goes,  by  the  usual 
ed  for.  course  of  succession,  to  children,  who  pay  the  lowest  rates  of 
duty ;  whilst  personal  property  is  much  more  generally  left 
to  strangers  in  blood,  who  pay  the  highest  rates.  The  Com- 
missioners of  Inland  Revenue  "  are  unable  to  offer  any  satis- 
"  factory  explanation  of  the  causes  which  may  have  interfered 
"with  the  progress  naturally  to  be  expected  in  this  tax." 
Mr.  Bright,  in  the  House  of  Commons,  has  attributed  the 
failure  "  to  the  gross  unfairness  with  which  the  tax  is  levied 
"  — viz.,  on  the  full  amount  as  regards  one  species  of  property, 
"  and  only  on  its  value,  calculated  as  a  life  annuity,  on  an- 
"  other"  Other  parties,  out  of  the  House,  have  declared  that 
there  are  gross  frauds  in  dealing  with  this  tax.  That  seems 
scarcely  to  be  credited ;  but  the  doubt  arid  difficulty  which 
envelopes  the  whole  subject,  seems  to  render  it  advisable  that 
An  inqui-  it  should  not  escape  inquiry.  A  Committee  of  the  House  of 
mended.m~  Commons,  on  the  Probate,  Legacy,  and  Succession  Duties 
would,  probably,  be  extremely  useful. 

The  Fire  Insurance  Duty  brings  the  large  sum  of  1,600,0002. 


SEC.  I.J  STAMP  DUTIES.  121 

to  the  revenue ;   and  being  very  readily  collected,  is  a  very  CHA.P.  VII. 
favourite  tax  with  officials  — who  seek  to  show  that  a  tax  The  duty 
amounting  to  200  per  cent,  on  the  cost  of  insurance,  has  no  on  Fnu5 
effect  in  diminishing  the  amount  of  property  insured.     It 
cannot,  however,  be  questioned  that  this  is  a  tax  on  provi- 
dence and  prudence,  bad  in  principle   and   oppressive  in 
amount.     The  exemption  from  the  duty  of  farming-stock  and 
agricultural  produce  in  the  hands  of  the  grower,  only  adds  to 
the  inequality  and  injustice  of  this  item  of  our  taxation  ;  but 
the  tax  should  be  revised  or  repealed — not  in  any  way  ex- 
tended.    The  duties  on  Marine  Insurances,  although  they  are  and  MARI- 
not  so  oppressive,  come  within  the  same  category,  and  should  STANCES.  " 
be  similarly  dealt  with.     Insurance  against  possible  ruin  by 
fire  or  shipwreck  is  not  a  fit  subject  for  national  taxation ;  for 
the  security  of  individual  property  is  of  itself  essential  to  the 
security  of  the  State. 

The  duties  levied  on  Deeds  and  other  instruments  were       stamp 
greatly  and  reasonably  complained  of  some  years  back,  ° 

pressing  unfairly  upon  small  conveyances,  &c.  A  better  form 
of  levying  these  duties  was  adopted  in  1849,  when  a  uniform 
per  centage  was  substituted  for  the  old  scale,  which  increased 
by  steps,  diminishing  in  amount  the  higher  it  rose,  up  to  a 
certain  amount,  at  which  it  stopped.  For  example : — the 
duty  on  Leases  is  now  an  equal  duty  of  10  per  cent,  upon  the 
rent :  it  formerly  varied  from  5  per  cent,  on  the  lower  rents 
to  about  1  per  cent,  upon  the  higher.  In  other  respects,  re- 
ductions and  improvements  have  been  made  in  this  class  of 
duties — illustrating  how  much  an  equitable  taxation  relieves 
the  public  and  improves  the  revenue.  For  although  some  of 
the  remissions  have  been  considerable,  the  amount  received 
from  this  duty  has  been  well  maintained.* 

Another  illustration  of  the  same  principle  is  afforded  by 


*  Blackstone  observes  of  the  stamp  duty  on  deeds  and  other  instruments,  that 
they  are  useful  "  by  authenticating  the  instruments,  and  rendering  it  much  more 
"  difficult  than  formerly  to  forge  deeds  of  long  standing ;  since,  as  the  officers  of 
"  this  branch  of  the  revenue  vary  their  stamps  frequently,  by  marks  perceptible  to 
"  none  but  themselves,  a  man  that  could  forge  a  deed  of  King  William's  time, 
"must  know  and  be  able  to  counterfeit  the  stamp  of  that  date  also." 


122  ON  TAXATION.  [SEC.  I. 

CHAP.  vii.  the  reduction  made,  in  1852,  of  the  various  rates  of  duty  upon 
KECEIPT  receipts  and  drafts  to  one  uniform  penny  stamp.     The  receipt 
STAMPS.      ^^  ^  gource?  wnich  was  as  low  as  194,0002.  in  1852, 
amounted  to  440,0002.  in  1861. 


CHAPTER  YIII. 

CKOWN    LANDS. 

IN  February,  1 849,  a  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  CHAP.VHI. 
was  appointed,  on  the  motion  of  Lord  Duncan,  (now  the  Earl 
of  Camperdown,)  "  to  inquire  into  the  expenditure  and  man- 
"  agement  of  the  "Woods,  Forests,  and  Land  Eevenues  of 
"  Crown,  and  to  report  whether  any  reductions,  alterations,  and   Land 
"  or  improvements  could  be  made  in  that  branch  of  public  Of        the 
"  expenditure."     The  inquiries  of  this  Committee  were  at-   rown> 
tended  with  peculiar  difficulties  ;  but  Lord  Duncan  persisted 
in  prosecuting  them.     His  energy  and  perseverance  ultimately 
resulted  in  a  Report  to  Parliament,  which  threw  great  light 
on  the  condition  of  the  "  Woods  and  Forests  ;  "  and  resulted     changes 
in  a  change  of  management  in  the  department.     "  Woods,  merit"1^' 
Forests,  Land  Revenues,  Works,  and  Buildings,"  were,  up  to  J^j^  fol~ 
that  period,  managed  by  a  Board  of  three  Commissioners, 
who  were  scarcely  responsible  for  any  of  their  acts.     An  ar- 
rangement effected  in  1851  established  their  Parliamentary 
responsibility  and  divided  their  duties.     To  the  Chief  Com- 
missioner was  assigned  the  special  duties  connected  with 
public  works  and  buildings ;  to  one  of  the  other  Commis- 
sioners the  control  of  the  land  revenues ;  and  to  the  third, 
the  management  of  the  woods  and  forests.     A  report  to  Par- 
liament  was  required  from  the  two  latter  Commissioners? 
which  has  since  been. annually  presented. 

The  property  of  the  Crown  is  immense.     It  is  dispersed  The  Crown 
over  no  less  than  thirty-two  counties  of  England.     It  consists  thSr  great* 
of  manors,  royalties,  mines  and  minerals,  estates,  ground-  value!  ""* 
rents,  houses,  church  livings,  fee  farm-rents,  forests,  waste 
lands,  fore-shore  rights,  &c.     So  far  back  as  1830,  the  value 
of  the  Crown  property  was  estimated  at  more  than  20,000,000^. 
That  estimate  was  made  on  a  moderate  calculation  of  rentals, 


124:  ON  TAXATION.  [SEC.  I. 

CHAP. VIII.  &c. ;  and,  in  the  thirty  years  which  have  since  elapsed,  the 
value  of  property  in  England  has  so  much  increased,  that  we 
shall  scarcely  be  above  the  mark  if  we  take  the  present  value 
The  Kent  of  the  Crown  estates  at  THIRTY  MILLIONS  sterling.  The  char- 
acter of  the  past  management  of  this  large  property  may  be 
judged  of  from  present  results.  The  gross  annual  income 
derived  from  all  the  Crown  estates  is  only  417,0002.  a  year ; 
the  net  income  only  293,0002.  a  year — less  than  one  per  cent, 
upon  the  value  of  the  property ! 

The  Crown  The  accounts  of  the  Crown  revenues  are  now  rendered  to 
Parliament  with  some  particularity ;  and  although  they  ex- 
hibit here  and  there  improvements  upon  the  old  administra- 
tion, it  is  still  grievous  to  observe  the  character  of  many  of 
the  transactions,  and  the  state  of  some  of  the  accounts.  For 
example :  the  "  Crown  rents  "  for  the  year  ending  31st  March, 
1862,  showed  that  there  was  a  total  sum  "receivable"  of 
Arrears.  509,0002.  from  that  source.  But  from  that  total  there  had 
to  be  deducted  no  less  than  192,0002.  for  "  arrears,"  of 
which  110,5002.  were  avowedly  "  irrecoverable !"  The 
Crown  rents  were,  therefore,  reduced  from  "  509,0002.  receiv- 
able," to  "317,5002.  received!" 

Increase      The  Commissioner  who  presides  over*  the  Land  Revenue, 

revenue088  the  Hon.  Charles  Gore,  claims  credit  in  his  last  report  for 

having  raised  the  annual  revenue  of  the  department  in  the 

last  ten  years  from  an  average  of  339,0002.  a  year  to  an 

average  of  414,0002.  a  year — an  increase  of  75,0002.  per  an- 

not  accom-  num.     Unfortunately,  however,  it  does  not  appear  that  this 

S^corref-  increase  of  75,0002.  a  year  finds  its  way  into  the  public  reve- 

mcreasf  of nue-     ^e  average  annual  payments  into  the  Exchequer  only 

net    rove- show  £n  increase  of  28,5002.  a  year,  instead  of  75,0002.— the 

difference,  no  less  than  46,5002.  a  year,  going  to  defray  the 

expenses  of  increased  cost  of  management. 

Cost   of     The  whole  cost  of  managing  these  estates  is  something 
SnJroln  enormous.     Out  of  the  gross  rental  of  437,0002.  for  1861-62, 
estates.      no  }ess  tjian  137?0002.,  or  nearly  one-third,  was  abstracted  by 
receivers,  stewards  of  manors,  surveyors,  and  pensioners,  and 
for  repairs  and  improvements,  fixed  charges,  stipends,  allow- 
ances, and  miscellaneous  payments.      Besides  all  this,  the 
Treasury  had  to  defray  the  charges  of  the  department  itself, 


SBC.  I.]  CROWN   LANDS.  125 

amounting  to  29,OOOZ.,  of  which  amount  nearly  10,OOOZ.  was  CHAP.VIII. 
disbursed  under  the  head  of  "legal  expenses."     The  whole 
cost  of  the  management  of  the  Crown  lands  in  1861-62, 
appears  to  have  exceeded  166,OOOZ.,  out  of  a  gross  revenue  of 
417,0002. 

Large  as  is  the  proportion  of  expenditure  to  income,  in  the 
management  of  the  manors,  estates,  houses,  &c.,  which  are 
considered  the  "  Land  Revenues  "  of  the  Crown,  the  case  is 
worse  as  regards  the  properties  which  are  classed  as  "  Woods 
and  Forests."     The  Woods  and  Forests,  vast  as  they  are  inj{        The 
extent,  and  varied  as  they  are  in  character,  produce  less  than  and    For- 
nothing  to  the  revenue:  they  are  an  absolute  annual  loss. est8' 
The  following  is  an  account  of  the  receipt  and  expenditure 
of  the  different  Royal  Forests  and  Woods,  for  1861-62 ;  and 
certainly  a  worse  account  could  scarcely  be  imagined : — 

EOTAL    FOBESTS    AND    WOODS,   1861-62. 

RECEIPT.  EXPENDITURE. 

Windsor  Forest £6,080  . .  £21,913 

New  Forest : 22,304  . .  14,564: 

Dean  Forest  (a) 9,388  . .  9,843 

Highmeadow  Woods 2,742  . .  2,432 

Alice  Holt  Forest 808  ..  1,009 

Wooliner  Forest 1,364  ..  412 

Bere  Forest 2,042  . .  878 

Parkhurst  Forest 424  ..  590 

Ilazleborough  Wood 321  . .  383 

Salcey  Forest 719  ..  819 

Delamere  Forest : 1,298  ..  1,118 

Epping  Forest Nil.  ..  50 

Cnopwell  Woods 26  ..  551 

Total '. . . .  £47,520  . .  £54,567 

(a)  Exclusive  of  Mines. 

It  will  be  seen  that  some  of  these  estates  are  worse  than      TJnpro- 
unproductive — that  they  are  a  source  of  large  annual  outlay,  characterof 
The   expenditure  on  Windsor  Forest  (which   comprehends  domains, 
such  items  as  3,600£.  a  year  for  salaries ;  500£.  for  food  for  the 
game;  1,200£.  for  purchase  of  oxen;  750Z.  for  the  royal  stand 
and  dog  kennels  at  Ascot,  &c.)  may  be  all  necessary  for  the 
comfort  and  convenience  of  the  Sovereign,  and  may  therefore 
be  passed  over  without  further  observation.     But  what  is  to 


126  ON  TAXATION.  [SEC.  I. 

CHAP. VIIL  be  said  respecting  the  other  forests  and  woods  which  do  not 
Chopweii  pay  their  expenses  ? — as,  for  instance,  Chopwell  "Woods,  in 
s*      Durham,  (containing  879  acres,)  which  are  maintained  at  a 
cost  of  551Z.  a  year,  for  salaries,  improvements,  &c.,  and  pro- 
duce 261.  from  the  rent  of  a  cottage,  the  use  of  a  water-course, 
(5s.,)  the  right  to  remove  gravel,  (1?.,)  and  a  shooting  licence 
(1Z.)     If  it  be  said  that  these  woods  are  maintained  because 
they  bear  timber,  the  answer  is,  that,  in  the  draft  Report 
proposed  by  the  late  Mr.  Pusey,  M.  P.,  for  Lord  Duncan's 
Committee,  the  land  at  Chopwell  was  stated  to  be  "  unsuited 
to  many  of  the  trees  planted  on  it ;"  and  it  was  added  that, 
"  as  the  woods  are  too  remote  for  supplying  her  Majesty's 
"  dockyards,  it   would  probably  be  the  best  course  to  sell 
"  them."     If  it  is  urged  that  there  are  believed  to  be  minerals 
under  the  land  at  Chopwell,  it  may  be  inquired  why  they  are 
not  turned  to  account  ?     The  only  receipt  from  royalties  at 
Chopwell  in  1861-62  was  611.  for  arrears  due  on  account  of 
the  dead  rent  of  a  colliery,  out  of  which  25Z.  was  paid  for  "  a 
subterranean  survey  and  local  examination  of  accounts  1" 
Being     Few  of  these  woods  and  forests  are  anything  but  wastes ; 
no   longer  and,  in  the  hands  of  the  State,  they  are  not  likely  to  become 
formre(the  any thing  better.     It  would  be  in  every  way  for  the  interest 
timber    °fkoth  of  the  State  and  of  its  subjects,  that  these  possessions 
these  'for- should  be  disafforested.     "Woods  and  forests  are  no  longer 
not       be  wanted  to  supply  timber  for  the  royal  navy.     Our  ships  are 
ed*  now  built  of  different  materials,  and,  even  if  they  were  not, 
timber  can  be  purchased  cheaper  than  the  Government  can 
grow  it ;  and  the  Scotch  fir  and  larch,  which  are  the  principal 
produce  of  the  Crown  properties,  are  not  the  woods  most 
needed  in  our  dockyards.     Much  of  the  land  in  these  forests 
is  well  fitted  for  agriculture ;  other  portions  might  be  sold  for 
New  residential  properties.     The  extensive  waste  called  the  ~New 
Forest,  comprising  no  less  than  66,000  acres  of  land,  whereof 
45,000  are  without  any  timber,  was  cultivated  in  the  time  of 
the  Conqueror ;  and  this  forest  is  now  wifedn  such  easy  reach 
of  the  metropolis,  and  other  large  towns,  that,  if  proper  op- 
portunity was  afforded  for  its  habitation,  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  charming  properties  would  be  formed  in  the  midst 
of  the  romantic  scenery  which  it  embraces.     Salcey  Forest, 


SEC.  L]  CKOWN  LANDS.  127 

in  Northamptonshire,  was  recommended  to  be  sold  long  since,  CHAP.VIII. 
on  account  of  its  inland  situation  and  its  insignificant  size.  Fore|alcey 
Chop  well  Wood  was  an  arable  farm  prior  to  181o,  and,  in- 
stead of  entailing  a  cost  of  5001.  a  year,  might  be  turned  to 
equally    good    account    again.       Highmeadow  Woods,   in        High- 
Gloucestershire,  purchased  in  1817  for  no  less  than  154,0002., 
produce  only  a  surplus  of  3101.  a  year.     Parts  of  this  pro- 
perty might  be  let  or  sold  for  residential  purposes. 

Kecent  experience  of  the  Woods  and  Forests  affords  ample 
assurance  that  this  policy  would  be  advantageous  to  the  reve- 
nue. Wychwood  Forest,  in  Oxfordshire,  which,  prior  to  1840, 


was  a  source  of  continuous  annual  expense  to  the  Government,  ing  Wych- 

and  of  constant  depredations  and  complaint  in  its  neighbour- 

hood, has  been  disafforested;    and  the  last  report  of  the 

Commissioners  states,  that  "  the  Crown  is  now  in  the  posses- 

"  sion  of  an  estate  producing  a  rental  of  upwards  of  5,000£.  a 

"  year  from  this  property."     liainault  Forest,  which  at  the  and    Hai- 

time  of  Lord  Duncan's  inquiry  produced  an  average  net  an- 

nual income  of  less  tjian  500Z.,  has  been  also  disafforested  ; 

and  the  same  report  tells  us  that  "  the  cost  of  reclaiming  the 

"  Crown  lands  was  more  than  covered  by  the  sale  of  the 

"  timber  and  underwood  which  stood  upon  it,  and  a  rental  of 

"  4,200Z.  was  obtained  from  the  property  when  let  on  lease 

"  for  farming  purposes."     Why  should  not  the  other  royal 

forests  and  woods  be  turned  to  equally  good  account  ?     The      Advan- 

land  of  the  country  would  be  increased,  agriculture  extended,  ^Jfuid  re- 

society  improved,  and  the  revenue  benefited,  by  turning  these 

wastes  to  profitable  purposes.     It  is  a  crying  Elaine  to  the 

nation  and  a  sin  to  society,  that  in  the  midst  of  this  country  forests 

and  people,  crippled  as  we  are  for  want  of  space,  impover- 

ished as  many  are  for  want  of  employment,  and  teeming  as 

we  are  with  an  overcrowded  population,  the   State  should 

possess  hundreds  of  thousands  of  acres  of  land,  uncultivated, 

undrained,  and,  in  general,  nothing  more  than  waste,  only 

serving  the  purposes  of  haunts  for  beasts  of  the  field  and  fowls 

of  the  air  —  contributing  so  little  to  the  benefit  of  mankind  — 

and  entailing  an  annual  charge  upon  the  revenues  of  the 

nation,  to  be  paid  for  out  of  the  pockets  of  the  taxpayers. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


COLLECTION     OF     THE     11  E  V  E  N  TJ  E  . 


CHAP.JX.  IN  the  Parliamentary  Session  of  1848,  Dr.  (now  Sir  John) 
Dr.  BOW- Bowring  proposed  a  resolution  that  all  moneys  received  by 
lutfon^hat  the  different  departments  of  the  revenue,  should  be  paid  into 
revenue088  ^ie  Exchequer,  without  deduction,  and  that  no  payments 
should  be  should  be  made  from  any  of  them,  except  by  the  authority  of 
the  Exche- Parliament.  The  proposal  was  stoutly  opposed  by  the  Gov- 

quer,  1848,  f  ,-,        -,  .  .  n  .  ,.      ,  -, 

ernment  01  the  day  as  inconvenient  and  impracticable ;  and 
although  it  was  adopted  by  the  House  of  Commons,  it  re- 
mained a  dead-letter  on  the  journals,  without  being  acted 
adopted  by  upon,  until  1854,  when  Mr.  Gladstone  introduced  and  carried 
6tone,i854~ a  hill  through  Parliament,  providing  that  the  costs  of  collec- 
tion and  other  expenses  attending  the  receipt  of  the  revenue, 
but     even  should  be  voted  as  items  of  the  annual  supplies.     This  bill 

yetnotful-  i  i    ,  ^11  i 

ly  acted  on,  passed,  and,  to  some  extent,  has  been  acted  upon  ;  but  even 

yet  the  law  is  by  no  means  fully  observed,  and  in  consequence 

it  is  not  so  easy  a  matter  as  it  ought  to  be,  to  get  at  the  real 

Confused  cost  of  collecting  the  revenue.     In  the  accounts  of  most  of 

depart- the  tne  different  Government  departments,  the  items,  which  show 

mental  ac~  ^ie  cos^  Of  management  and  collection,  are  given  with  so 

counts  asto  ° 

cost  of  col- much  confusion,  that  it  is  difficult  to  ascertain  whether  the 

lection  and  .  .  , 

manage-  total  is  complete  or  otherwise.  In  some  cases  the  cost  or 
collection  is  still  deducted  from  gross  revenue.  In  other  cases 
part  of  the  cost  is  paid  out  of  the  gross  revenue,  while  another 
part  is  voted  by  the  House  of  Commons,  in  the  supplies  of 
the  year.  Not  only  are  the  accounts  of  different  departments 
often  made  up  to  different  dates,  but  the  accounts  of  the  same 
department  very  often  conflict  with  each  other;  and  they 


SEO.  I.]  COLLECTION  OF  THE  EEVENUE.        •  129 

rarely  agree  with  the  totals,  as  they  are  given  in  the  general  CHAP.  IX. 
financial  statements  of  annual  income  and  expenditure.* 

In  1847,  Mr.  Hume  obtained  a  return  which  showed  tnatHume,g^e' 
the  amount  stopped,  in,  transitu,  between  the  different  depart-  turn       of 
ments  and  the  Exchequer,  in  the  year  ending  on  the  5th       ' 
January  preceding,  was  7,004,438?.,  the  gross  sum  levied  on  s^in|nd 
the  tax-paper  having  been  in  that  year  64,774,73SZ. ;  whilst  net    reve- 
the  net  amount  received  by  the  Exchequer  was  57,770,000^. 
The  calculation  of  the  difference  between  the  gross  total  The  differ- 
stated  to  have  been  collected  by  each  department,  and  the  tween 
net  total  paid  into  the  Exchequer,  seems  to  be  the  natural nSTis  *the 
and  proper  mode  of  getting  at  the  true  cost  of  the  expenses  g^^001" 
of  collection.     Now  the  following  table  shows  the  gross  reve- 
nue, as  given  by  each  department,  and  the  net  amount  of  the 
several  branches  of  revenue  paid  into  the  Exchequer  in  1861, 
(after  deducting  payments  for  collection,)  as  given  in  the  Sta- 
tistical Abstract  of  the  United  Kingdom.     There  is   good     Caicuia- 

,     ,     , .          , ,     ,  , ,       , .  ™  .  ,        ,     tion  of  the 

reason  to  believe  that  the  difference  approximates  very  closely  cost  of  coi- 
to  what  is  the  real  charge  of  collection,  and  that  the  total  ^l™  On 
represents  much  more'  truly  than  many  official  returns  con-*hl|e  prin~ 
structed  on  more  scientific  principles,  what  is  the  absolute 
amount  that  finds  its  way  out  of  the  public  purse,  in  the  form 
of  cost  of  management,  and  charges  of  collection. 


*  As  an  illustration  of  this,  Sir  Thomas  Fremantle,  the  Chairman  of  the  Board 
of  Customs,  in  his  recent  examination  before  Mr.  Horsfall's  Committee,  (to  which 
I  shall  have  presently  to  refer,)  was  asked  how  it  happened  that  the  Customs 
made  it  appear  that  the  gross  revenue  they  had  paid  into  the  Exchequer  in  1861 
was  25,516,0002.,  whilst  the  Exchequer  only  admitted  the  receipt  of  22,503,000?.  ? 
The  explanation  was,  that,  after  paying  the  gross  amount  into  the  Bank  of  Eng- 
land, the  Receiver-General  of  Customs  drew  cheques  on  the  account  to  pay  draw- 
backs und  reduced  over-payments.  Being  further  asked  why  the  cost  of  collection, 
as  given  in  the  finance  accounts  presented  to  Parliament  by  the  Customs,  differed 
from  the  amount  at  which  the  Customs  themselves  stated  it,  he  took  time  to  in- 
quire, and  afterwards  explained  that  the  discrepancy  arose  from  the  cost  of  the 
Customs'  establishment  at  Manchester  being  included  in  one  account  and  not  in 
the  other  I 


130 

CHAP.  IX. 


ON  TAXATION. 


REVENUE,  1861. 


[SEC.  I. 


DEPARTMENT. 


GROSS 
RECEIPTS. 


Customs £23,657,513 

Excise 20,133,989 

Stamps 8,626,014 

Taxes 3,148,754 

Income  Tax 11,158,883 

Post  Office 3,528,427 

Crown  Lands 417,440 

Total £70,671,020 


PAYMENT  TO 
EXCHEQUER. 


£62,599,( 


DIFFERENCE, 


£22,765,338 

£892,175 

17,266,586 

.  .       2,867,403 

8,307,287 

318,727 

2,927,573 

221,181 

9,687,750 

.  .       1,471,133 

1,351,669 

..       2,176,758 

293,479 

113,961 

£8,061,5 


Cost  of  col-     According  to  this  calculation,  the  cost  of  collecting  the  re- 
lection  in    venue  exceecis  8,000,0002.* 

1806j  In  the  year  1806,  the  gross  receipt  of  the  revenue  was 

58,255,1752.— the  charge  for  collecting  it,  2,797,7222. 

In  1826  the  gross  receipt  was  54,839,6852. — the  charge  for 
collecting  it,  4,030,3372. 

In  1846  the  gross  income  wTas  64,774,4382. — the  charge  for 
collecting  it,  7,004,4382. 

In  1862  the  gross  income  being  taken  at  70,671,0202.— the 
charge  for  collecting  it  is,  in  round  figures,  8,000,0002. 
The  in-     It  thus  appears  that  the  cost  of  collecting  the  revenue  in- 
cos?dispro-creases   out   °f  all   due    proportion   to   the  revenue  itself; 


1826. 


1846. 


1862. 


?n-  although  the  process  has,  in  the  interval,  been  much  simplified. 
crease     of     In  order  to  investigate  into  this  very  serious  state  of  things? 

evenue.      .     .  . 

inquiry  as  it  is  necessary  to  examine  into  the  cost  of  collection  of  each 
department. 


cause. 


*  Of  course  this  includes  all  drawbacks,  allowances,  and  payments,  as  well  as 
commissions,  discounts,  &c.,  which  are  included  in  the  gross  totals  of  the  revenue 
of  each  department.  It  may  be  observed,  that  the  Finance  accounts  of  the  United 
Kingdom  for  1862  afford  strong  confirmation  of  the  impression  derived  from  this 
account,  that  the  total  cost  of  collecting  the  revenue  is  not  less  than  8,000,000?.  a 
year.  In  a  "  General  Abstract  of  Sums  voted  for  the  Charges  of  Collections  of  the 
Public  Income,"  the  Expenditure  under  that  head  of  service  is  stated  at  5,599,633?. 
If  we  add  to  this  1,727,083?.  for  "  Repayments,  allowances,  and  drawbacks,"  and 
137,142?.,  "paid  out  of  the  gross  revenue  of  the  Crown  Lands,  in  their  progress  to 
the  Exchequer,"  we  have  a  total  of  7,463,858?.  But  this  does  not  include  the  com- 
missions deducted  by  the  stamp  distributors,  assessed  tax-collectors,  clerks  to  in- 
come-tax commissions,  &c.,  which  would  quite  bring  up  the  total  cost  to  the 
amount  shown  as  the  difference  in  the  above  table. 


SEC.  I.]  COLLECTION    OF  THE  REVENUE. 

First:  as  to  the  Customs.     The  report  from  this  depart-  CHAP.  ix. 
ment  illustrates  curiously  enough  the  difficulty  of  understand-    ^^  of 
ing  what  is  really  the  cost  of  collecting  the  revenue.     The  f£llectln  f 
table  in  the  previous  page  shows  that  the  difference  between  TOMS. 
the  gross  and  net  revenue  of  the  Customs  in   1861   was 
892,000?.     In   the   Sixth  Report  of  the   Commissioners  of    Complex 
Customs  the  "  charges  of  collection"  are  set  down  at  769,6632.  ;  $  Yhe'offi- 
and  a  tabular  statement  is  given  to  show  that,  the  "  charges  ^nts  ac~ 
of  collection"  have  been   diminishing  from   1,302,,000?.   to 
770,000?.     But,  on  close  examination,  it   appears  that  the    The    ac~ 

'  111  .  counts    do 

calculations  on  which  these  estimates  have  been  made,  have  not  contain 
not  contained  the  same  items  in  the  different  years  which  are  iteems.&ar 
contrasted.  In  some  years  the  accounts  did,  and  in  others 
they  did  not,  "  include  the  expenses  of  the  warehousing  de- 
partment." Since  1854,  "the  superannuation  allowances 
"  granted  to  retired  officers  have  not  been  brought  to  ac- 
"  count  ;  "  and,  "  since  1856,  the  expenses  of  the  Coast  Guard, 
"  previously  borne  by  the  revenue  of  Customs,  have  been 
"  defrayed  by  the  Admiralty."  Strange  accounts  these  on 
which  to  compute  a  reduction  of  charges  of  collection  and 
rates  per  cent,  upon  receipt. 

If  we  come  to  look  at  the  charges,  as  they  really  are,  we  Actual 
shall  find  that  the  actual  cost  of  collecting  the  Customs'  reve-  lecting  the 
nue,  at  the  present  time,  is  something  very  largely  in  excess, 
not  only  of  the  amount  stated  by  the  Customs  themselves, 


but  even  of  the  difference  which  results  from  a  calculation  of  the       ac~ 

counts  ren- 

net revenue  abstracted  from  gross  revenue.  dered. 

It  appears  from  Sir  Thomas  Fremantle's  evidence  that,  in  The  cost  of 
1841,  the  cost  of  the  collection  of  the  Customs,  including  the  G\mrdC°ast 
Coast  Guard,  was  1,266,000?.     The  Coast  Guard  was  then  omitted. 
estimated  at  450,000?.     Last  year  the  cost  of  collecting  the 
Customs  was  estimated  at  770,000?.  ;  the  Coast  Guard  at 
711,879?.—  total    1,481,879?.      Excess  of   1862   over  1841, 
221,879?. 

Now,  we  have  already  seen  that  between  1841  and  1862  The  nnm- 
the  number  of  articles  charged  to  the  Customs'  duties  was  ties  to  be 
reduced  from  1,163-  to  44.  Within  the  interval  the  Naviga- 
tion  Laws  have  been  repealed,  thereby  relieving  the  Customs 
of  the  duties  attending  their  enforcement.  The  department 


132  ON  TAXATION.  [SEC.  I. 

CHAP.  ix.  has  also  been  relieved  of  the  responsibility  of  superintending 

the  Colonial  -customs,  which  have  been  transferred  to  the 

respective   local   Governments.     Export    duties   have  been 

entirely  abolished.     The  coasting  trade  has  been  thrown  open. 

but      the  The  Customs'  department,  in  fact,  has  been  relieved  of  its 

lection  iu-inost  onerous  duties ;  and  yet  the  cost  of  collecting  the  Cus- 

creased.     ^oms,  including  the  Coast  Guard,  has,  during  the  last  twenty 

years,  increased  instead  of  having  been  diminished. 
Expiana-     The  Customs'  authorities  do  not  deny  the  increase ;  but 
tion offered  ^gy  enc|eavour  to  apologise  for  it  under  the  plea  that  our 
Board.       trade  has  largely  increased,  and  that,  in  consequence,  many 
new  duties  have  been  thrown  on  them.     In  1858  they  ob- 
tained the  sanction  of  the  Treasury,  under  this  plea,  to  an 
increase  of  124  officers,  at  a  cost  of  22,SOO£.  a  year ;  and,  in 
the  Report  for  that  year,  they  give  the  following  account  of 
the  duties  which  their  officers  have  to  perform,  and  which,  in 
their  opinion,  rendered  this  increase  necessary.     They  say— 
"  Nearly  every  commercial  transaction  has  to  be  supervised 
«        "  and  taken  cognizance  of  by  the  officers  of  Customs  ;  every 
"  item*  of  every  cargo  discharged  or  despatched  has  to  be  ex- 
"  amined  and  recorded  by  them  with  greater  or  less  particu- 
"  larity ;  every  operation  carried  on  in  the  vast  and*  numerous 
"  bonded  warehouses,  scattered  up  and  down  the  country,  is 
"  vigilantly  watched  and  scrupulously  noted,  if  not  actually 
"performed  by  them;  and  every  fresh  wharf  privileged,  as 
"  well  as  every  fresh  warehouse  approved,  involves  either  the 
"  appointment  of  new  superintending  officers  or  an  increase 
"  of  labour  to  existing  ones ;  whilst  the  clerical  work  per- 
"  formed  in  the  central  offices,  to  which  are  entrusted  the 
^  preparation  and  examination  of  the  accounts  of  the  country, 
"  whether  monetary  or  statistical,  must  obviously  increase, 
"pari  passu,  with  the  transactions  to  be  recorded." 
The  apolo-     Now,  if  this  is  the  real  state  of  the  case,  it  is  quite  obvious 
ered?°n8ld~  that  the  Customs  undertake  a  vast  deal  more  than  the  neces- 
sities of  the  State  require ;  and  that  they  have  not,  in  fact, 
adapted  the  rules  and  regulations  of  their  department  to  our 
improved   tariff,  but  persist   in   treating  the   trade  of  the 
country  as  if  every  petty  article  was  subject  to  taxation,  in- 
stead of  a  few  great  articles  which  can  be  readily  recognised, 


SEC.  I.]  COLLECTION  OF  THE  EEVENUE.  133 

measured,  and  assessed.  What  possible  necessity  can  there  CHAP.  IX. 
be  to  "  supervise  and  take  cognizance  of  every  commercial  ^  Has  the 
"transaction?"  "Why  should  "every  item  discharged 
"despatched  be  examined  and  recorded?"  Why  should  J 
"  every  operation  in  our  vast  and  numerous  bonded  ware- 


tem 


"  houses  be  vigilantly  watched  and  scrupulously  noted  ?"   All  cial  code? 
this  rigidity  is  not  only  inconsistent  with  a  system  of  free  tern  incon- 


tracle,  but  must  be  an  absolute  obstruction  to  commercial 
transactions.  Surely,  if  our  system  of  administration  hadTrade- 
not  got  into  a  groove  in  which  it  was  forced  to  run,  despite 
every  sort  of  reformation  and  improvement  in  all  to  which  it 
relates,  some  plan  might  have  been  adopted  to  preclude  the 
necessity  of  all  this  examination,  recording  and  watching  and 
noting.  Cui  ~bono  f 

There  are  some  curious  admissions  in  Sir  Thomas  Fre-  Theprac- 
mantle's  evidence,  which  show  that  all  this  vigilance  has  no  customs 


good  effect  at  all.     For  example  :  —  When  a  ship  comes  into 

the  Thames,  it  is  thought  necessary  to  place  a  Custom-house  PrinciPles- 

officer  on  board  of  frer  at  Gravesend.     But  when  defending 

the  necessity  of  maintaining  a  large  staff  of  officers,  Sir  T. 

Fremantle  tells  us  that  it  often  happens  that  there  is  such  an 

influx  of  ships,  that  the  Customs.,  have  not  officers  to  put  on 

board.     "  It  frequently  happens  that  the  ships  go  up  with  no 

"officer  on  board  at  all."     "Is  that  an  exceptional  case?" 

"  I  am  afraid  not  ;  for  it  frequently  happens  that  vessels  come 

"  in  by  fleets  :  —  when  an  easterly  wind  has  prevailed  for  some 

"  time,  they  all  come   in  together."     Well,  what  happens 

then  ?     The  chairman  of  the  Board  of  Customs  does  not,  in 

the  least  degree,  insinuate  that  any  evasions  of  duty  are  the 

consequence;  he  only  tells  us  that  "  the  hours  of  business  at 

"  the  Custom-house  are  very  much  increased."     Everything 

else  goes  on  as  regularly  without  the  Customs'  officer  on  board 

as  with  him. 

It  would  seem,  from  all  the  evidence  we  have  respecting  The  mode 
the  administration  of  the  Customs,  that  there  has  been  very  tion. 
little  improvement  in  the  mode  of  taking  the  duties  ;  and  that 
in  some  respects  the  system  has  become  unnaturally  cumber- 
some.    Speaking  of  tKe  Tea  department,  we  are  told  that    Tea. 
"  the  number  of  letters  and  documents  prepared  by  the  clerks 


134:  ON  TAXATION.  [SEC.  I. 

CHAP.JX.  "  employed  in  the  department,  have  risen  from  228,103  in 
"  1849,  to  465,736  in  1861."     Nearly  half  a  million  documents 
about  a  single  article  of  consumption  !     Every  chest  of  tea 
imported  is  emptied  out  and  refilled,  in  order  to  calculate  the 
tare  and  weight !     Sir  T.  Fremantle  does  not  anticipate  that 
any  "  alteration  of  duty  would  have  the  least  effect  upon  all 
"  those  letters  and  documents."     What  a  system  must  it  not 
be  that  thus  abides  by  the  past,  and  sees  110  improvement  in 
Sugar,     the  future  !     "With  regard  to  sugar,  we  are  told,  in  the  same 
fashion,  that  "  each  bag  of  sugar  has  to  be  examined  to  ascer- 
"  tain  the  rate  of  duty  payable,"  according  to  the  quality  and 
Wine,     colour  of  the  sugar.     With  wine  in  the  same  way.     Every 
cask  is  tested  in  order  to  ascertain  its  alcoholic  strength ; 
"and  all  these  arrangements  throw  great  labour  on  the  de- 
"  partment ;"  though  little  hope  is  given  of  a  reduction  of 
the  cost  of  management  under  any  circumstances. 
Custom-     But  there  are  other  departmental  expenses  in  the  Customs 
establish-  which  are  insisted  upon  as  absolutely  necessary,  though  they 
wherethere are  Ver7  unproductive   to  the  revenue.     At  Guernsey  and 
toms  duties  Jersey>  ^or  example,  it  is  thought  necessary  to  maintain  a 
to  collect.   Customs'  establishment  at  a  cost  of  nearly  2,OOOZ.  a  year  to 
the  department,  though  there  are  no  Customs'  duties  what- 
ever to  be  collected.     "  What  are  the  duties  of  these  officers  ?" 
asked  Mr.  Horsfall's  Committee.     "  The  Customs'  force  at 
these  islands  is  entirely  a  preventive  force,"  answered  the 
Chairman  of  the  Board — "  to  guard  against  smuggling  into 
the  United  Kingdom."     "Why  should  you  require  an  ex- 
pensive establishment  to  prevent  smuggling  from  Jersey  and 
Guernsey,  when  you  have  no  such  establishments  in  Antwerp, 
Eotterdam,  Havre,  or  Heligoland?"     "I  have  no  doubt," 
said  the  Chairman,  "  that  there  are  reasons  for  it  which  do 
not  occur  to  me" 

Custom-  Again,  the  Customs  have  "  an  establishment "  at  such  a 
establish-  place  as  Burrowstowness  : — the  Customs'  duty  collected  there, 
where  the  ?21^  tne  cost  of  collection  654Z. :— at  Campbeltown,  the 
j^t. of  col-  Customs'  duty  there  17Z.,  the  cost  of  collection  471Z. :— at 
ceeds  the  Kirkwall,  the  Customs  there  93Z.,the  cost  of  collection  7SOZ.  :— 
teTCC  '""at  Cardigan,  the  duties  there  65Z.,  the  salaries  311?.  One 
regrets  to  find  that  the  Customs  do  not  readily  admit  that  it 


SEC.  I.]  COLLECTION  OF  THE  REVENUE.  135 

is  possible  to  put  such  collection  as  this  upon  a  better  foot-  CHAP,  ix. 
ing.     There  are  twenty-nine  places  in  the  United  Kingdom 
at  which  the  gross  duties  only  amount  to  13,898Z.  whilst  the 
cost  of  collection  is  20,8982.— 748  per  cent. 

The  general  defence  of  the  department  for  their  expendi-  ^The  Sta- 
ture is,  that  "  they  have  so  many  duties  to  perform  irrespec-  quired   by 
"tive  of  the  collection  of  the  revenue,  that  when  the  trade  0f6Trade.r 
"  and  commerce  of  the  country  are  largely  increasing,  they 
"  must  increase  their  establishment."     The  statistics  of  our 
imports  and  exports,*  required  by  the  Board  of  Trade,  render, 
they  contend,  all  this  examination  and  supervision  indispens- 
able.    "  Unless  some  very  great  change  of  system  and  simpli- 
"  fication.  of  the  books  is  contrived,  we  must  make  up  our 
"  minds  to  an  annual  increase  in  the  Examiners'  department, 
"  proportioned,  in  some,  manner,  to  the  annual  expansion  of 
"our  trade."     Had  we  not  then  better  apply  ourselves  to    issimpli- 
eifect  this  "  change  of  system  and  simplification  of  the  books  ?"  possible?  " 
Are  we  to  go  on  paying  an  enormous  and  increasing  annual 
charge  for  taking  statistics,  without  any  attempt  at  simplifi- 
cation ?     "  Cannot  you  trust  a  merchant  to  fill  up  a  bill  of 
lading  ?"  asked  the  Chairman  of  the  Committee.     "  It  is  not 
quite  clear  that  the  return  would  be  a  correct  one,"  replied 
the  Chairman  of  the  Board  of  Customs.     "  Either  intention- 
"  ally  or  unintentionally,  there  may  be  error;  and  therefore 


*  The  statistical  returns  published  by  the  Board  of  Trade  are  very  valuable  and 
very  desirable.  But  all  who  are  conversant  with  them  know  that  they  are,  and 
only  can  be,  approximative.  In  fact,  where  the  revenue  officers  are  dealing  with 
merchandise,  valued  at  875,000,000?.  per  annum,  (more  than  a  million  a  day,)  ab- 
solute accuracy,  either  of  numbers  or  amounts,  must  be  impossible.  The  question 
is,  Do  we  obtain  greater  accuracy  under  the  Customs'  system  than  we  should  by 
simply  relying  upon  the  bills  of  lading?  There  is  reason  to  think  that  the  accuracy 
is  not  so  great  under  the  restrictive  and  expensive,  as  it  would  be  under  a  more 
popular  and  less  costly  system.  An  officer  of  the  Customs,  examined  before  Mr. 
Horsfall's  Committee,  gives  evidence  as  to  the  present  practice.  A  case  of  goods, 
he  says,  comes  to  be  shipped.  The  Customs'  officer  asks,  "  What  are  they  ?"  The 
reply  is,  "  I  don't  know."  "  What  shall  1  ship  them  for?"  "  Anything  you  like." 
"  Woollens  ?"  "  If  you  please."  "  What  is  their  value  ?"  "  Oh,  put  them  down 
for  a  thousand. "  Under  such  a  system  less  approximate  accuracy  is  obtained  than 
from  a  bill  of  lading.  The  evidence  given  upon  this  head  is  very  strong.  I  can 
only  give  its  tendency  ;  but  a  reference  to  the  Eeport  of  Mr.  Horsfall's  Committee 
will  show  that  I  have  understated  its  effect. 


136  ON  TAXATION.  |SKU.  I. 

CHAP,  ix.  "  it  is  necessary  to  have  recourse  to  more  particular  measures 
"in  order  to  obtain  a  correct  return."  But  we  ought  to 
reflect  how  much  both  the  commerce  and  the  revenue  of 
England  suffer  by  these  checks,  and  forms,  and  inspections, 
and  examinations,  and  assortments,  and  all  this  inquiry,  and 
inspection,  and  watchfulness,  and  vigilance,  in  order  to  make 
"  a  correct  return  "  of  an  export  cargo,  not  one  article  of 
which  is  subject  to  a  duty. 

How  far     The  Chairman  of  the  Customs  tells  us,  that  "  it  is  very 
-  "  doubtful  whether  the  work  connected  with  the  revenue  occu- 
rt^  the  "  pies,  now,  one-half  of  the  time  and  strength  of  the  office." 


ment  affect  If  such  is  the  case,  economy  is  surely  possible.     But  to  what 

collection,  extent  do  the  statistics  of  the  Board  of  Trade  affect  the 
800,OOOZ.  a  year  expended  in  the  salaries,  &c.,  of  the  Cus- 
toms ?  During  the  past  year  the  Customs  and  the  Board  of 
Trade  have  endeavoured  to  come  to  an  agreement  by  which 
the  latter  should  pay  the  former  for  all  the  work  performed 
by  Custom-house  officers,  which  did  not  form  a  part  of  the  re- 
gular Customs'  business.  The  amount  agreed  to  be  paid  by 
the  Board  of  Trade,  and  accepted  by  the  Customs,  in  dis- 
charge of  these  duties,  was  12,113£.  10s.  a  year.  "  I  consider 
it  a  very  inadequate  compensation,"  says  Sir  T.  Fremantle; 
but  probably  Mr.  Milner  Gibson  thinks  it,  on  the  other  hand, 
a  very  ample  remuneration. 
improve-  Let  us*  do  justice  to  the  Board  of  Customs.  There  are 

theoldsys-niany  respects  in  which  the  department  has  much  improved. 

Customs116  The  facilities  now  afforded  for  the  inspection  of  passengers' 
baggage  :  the  alteration  in  the  conduct  of  the  officers  and 
men  employed  by  the  department  :  the  greater  attention  paid 
to  public  convenience  :  the  system  under  which  cheques  on 
bankers  are  now  received  at  the  Custom-house,  instead  of 
cash  payments  :  all  of  these  and  many  other  improvements 
show  a  desire,  on  the  part  of  the  Board,  to  meet  the  public 
Eoom  convenience,  and  facilitate  trade.  But  their  general  system 

istsforfur-has  still  much  about  it  of  the  old,  complicated,  extravagant, 
an(^  useless  mode  of  dealing  with  commercial  transactions. 
It  requires  thorough  revision.  A  large  proportion  of  the 
charge  now  entailed  upon  the  revenue  for  collection  might 


SEC.  L]  COLLECTION  OF  THE  REVENUE.  ,  137 

be  saved,  if  the  Board  would  only  apply  themselves  to  im-  CIIAP.IX. 
prove  the  administration  of  the  department.     It  is  much  to 
be  feared  that  it  is  the  question  of  patronage  which  pre-  Whatpre- 
vents  this  improvement.     The  constantly  occurring  vacancies  them, 
amongst  the  5,500  officers  in  the  establishment,  presents  a 
field  for  Governmental  patronage  too  tempting  to  be  readily 
abandoned.     The  time,  however,  cannot  be  far  distant,  when 
it  will  be  felt  that  the  trade  and  the  revenue  of  the  nation 
must  be  regarded  as  of  superior  importance  to  the  exigencies 
of  party. 

The  INLAND  REVENUE  presents  even  stranger  anomalies  than     THE  IN- 
the  Customs,  with   regard  to  the   mode   of  estimating  its  VENUE. 
charges  of  management.     The  differences  between  the  gross      Deduc- 
revenue  collected  and  the  net  revenue  received  under  the^ss  E™ 
heads  of  Excise,  Stamps,  and  Taxes,  exceeds  3,000,0002. ;  but  ceiPt- 
Mr.  Pressly,  the  late  Chairman  of  the  Board  of  Inland  Re- 
venue, returns  the  whole  cost  of  this  department  at  only 
1,344,934Z.      Perhaps   the    following    examination   of  Mr. 
Pressly,  by  Mr.  Horsfall's  Committee,  may  assist  in  throwing 
light  upon  the  question — "  What  becomes  of  the  balance  ?" 

"  Does  not  the  law  direct  that  the  whole  of  the  gross  reve- 
"  nue  received  should  not  only  be  accounted  for,  but  that  it 
"  should  actually  be  paid  into  the  Exchequer  ? — It  does. 

'"  Are  the  repayments  for  drawbacks,  discounts,  and  other  Drawbacks 
"  parliamentary  allowances,  made  out  of  gross  revenue,  be- 
"  fore  it  is  paid  in  or  accounted  for  to  the  Exchequer  ? — They 
"  are. 

"  Will  you  state  the  nature  of  the  payments  made  under 
"  the  head  of  discounts  ? — The  discounts  are  30s.  per  cent.,  and     dis- 
"  which  a  party  is  entitled  to  on  the  purchase  of  ordinary 
"  stamps,  and  10d.  in  the  pound  on  the  purchase  of  receipt 
"  stamps  and  penny  stamps. 

"  What  are  the  payments  under  the  other  parliamentary 
"  allowances  wrhich,  together  with  the  drawbacks,  amount  to 
"  about  a  million  ? — The  Comptroller  will  be  better  able  to 
"  give  the  Committee  information  upon  every  item  than  I 
"  am  ;  he  makes  up  the  Finance  Accounts. 

"Are  salaries,  commissions,  poundage,  and  other  charges      Salaries 
"  deducted  from  the  gross  revenue,  before  payment  is  made 


138  ON  TAXATION.  [Sue.  I. 

CHAP,  ix.  "  into  the  Exchequer  ? — These  questions  had  better  be  an- 

"  swered  by  the  Comptroller  than  by  me. 
Poundage      "  Take  the  case  of  the  collector  of  assessed  taxes  ;  does  he 

on  Assess- ,,  •,  •  -,  .   ,    ,  .  nl  ., 

ed  Taxes.      remit  the  gross  amount  which  he  receives,  or  does  he  remit 

"  the  net  amount  only  after  deducting  his  commission  ? — The 

"  net  amount  after  deducting  his  commission ;  that  he  does 

"  under  the  Act  of  Parliament. 

Poundage      u  Is  it  the  same  with  regard  to  the  income-tax  collector, 

tax.  "  and  the  stamps  distributor  ? — Yes ;  they  deduct  the  pound- 

"  age ;   the  stamps  distributors  deduct   their  poundages  in 
"  their  accounts. 
The  law      "  If  it  is  the  practice  to  deduct  their  charges  and  payments 

plied  with"  "  before  accounting  for  the  gross  revenue  to  the  Exchequer,, 
"how  are  the  requirements  of  the  law  complied  with?— 
"  Under  the  law,  undoubtedly  the  collectors  are  entitled  to 
"  deduct  the  poundage ;  the  law  has  made  it  so.  "With  re- 
"  gard  to  the  distributors,  the  Comptroller  will  explain  to 
"  the  Committee  how  their  poundage  is  deducted.  I  appre- 
"  hend  that  it  is  a  deduction  in  their  accounts  ;  I  cannot  say 
"  that  it  is  not. 

"  Would  there  be  any  difficulty  in  opening  a  drawing  ac- 
"  count  at  the  Bank  of  England,  so  that  when  you  paid  into 
"  the  Bank,  to  the  account  of  the  Exchequer,  all  your  gross 
"  receipts,  you  would  at  the  same  time  be  authorized  to  draw 
"  to  the  extent  necessary  to  meet  the  current  expenses  of 
"  your  department  ? — No,  I  apprehend  there  would  be  no 
"  difficulty  ;  I  see  none." 
All  the  It  appears,  then,  from  this  evidence,  that  not  only  is  it  the 

deduct°rs  practice  of  the  Customs  to  repay  all  their  drawbacks  and  dis- 

8tfendsWn  coun^s  ou*  °f  their  revenue  before  they  pay  it  to  the  Exche- 
quer, but  also  the  Commission  of  the  Tax  Collectors,  the 
poundage  of  the  stamp  distributors,  and  other  expenses.  In 
fact,  the  tax  collectors  of  all  sorts  deduct  their  own  salaries, 
before  they  pay  over  the  moneys  they  collect  for  their  em- 
ployers. 
STAMPS.  Let  us  inquire  into  the  details.  Take  the  STAMPS.  The 

Their  dis-  stamps  are  distributed  by  a  number  of  persons  specially  ap- 
pointed for  the  purpose,  by  the  Lords  of  the  Treasury.  They 


SEC.  I.] 


COLLECTION  OF  TIIE  KEVENUE. 


139 


are  allowed  a  per  centage  on  the  sale  of  stamps,  wliicli  varies  CHAP.  IX 
from  1  to  5  per  cent.,  according  to  the  extent  of  their  dis- 
trict.    The  total  amount  of  the  poundage  which  they  de- 
ducted from  the  sums  they  remitted  in  1861,  was  68,500Z. 
The  appointments  of  these  stamp  distributors  are  usually 
made  for  political  purposes.     The  distributors  are  generally 
professional  men,  or  persons  engaged  in  other  avocations ; 
and  there  are  no  less  than  254  of  them,  besides  878  sub-dis- 
tributors.    The  following  list  will  show  the  character  of  the  Character 
poundage  which  some  of  them  deduct  from  the  duties  they  poundage, 
collect  in  the  larger  towns  of  England  : — 


The  dis- 
tributors. 


STAMP  DISTRIBUTORS'  POUNDAGE,  1861. 


Liverpool £2,214 

Manchester 1,470 

Bristol 1,455 

Birmingham 1,398 

Shrewsbury 1 ,198 

Exeter 1,135 

Lincoln 1,010 

Leeds :  840 

Newcastle 838 

Chester 834 

Bath 818 

Litchfield ' 817 

Brighton 806 

Carlisle '     795 

Derby 721 


Durham £710 

Canterbury 685 

Worcester 684 

Colchester 678 

Leicester B7G 

Northampton 675 

Sheffield 667 

Winchester 664 

Wakefield 653 

York 652 

Norwich 651 

Hull 643 

Cardiff 560 

Truro 533 


Now,  the  Chairman  of  Inland  Revenue  admits  that  the    How  this 
greater  part  of  all  this  poundage  might  be  saved  entirely  to  might    be 
the  revenue.     "  As  a  general  question,"  he  says,  "  I  am  of saved' 
"  opinion  that  the  sale  of  stamps  would  be  better  done  at  the 
"  Post  Office  than  even  by  the  revenue  officers."     There  is 
nothing  beyond  the  merest  clerical  duty  in  the  work  of  a 
stamp  distributor ;  and  by  a  simple  arrangement,  it  is  admit- 
ted that  almost  the  whole  of  the  poundage  now  paid  for 
the  distribution  of  stamps,  might  readily  be  saved  to  the  re- 
venue. 

Take  the  Taxes.     There  are  54,000  assessors  and  collectors  ASSESSED 
of  assessed  taxes,  who  deduct  from  the  amount  of  their  re- 
ceipts a  poundage  on  all  they  collect.     This  poundage,  in 


T' 


MO  ON  TAXATION.  [SEC.  I. 


1861,  amounted  to  177,0002.     They  are  appointed  by  the 
Their  Col-  Local  Commissioners  of  Taxes,  or  by  the  clerks.     They  only 
make  remittances  of  the  amounts  they  collect  quarterly,  or, 
more  generally,  half-yearly,  and  some  of  them  hold  in  their 
hands  large  floating  balances,  the  interest  of  which  is  lost  to 
t  Saving  the  Exchequer.     Mr.  Pressly  assured  Mr.  Horsfall's  Commit- 
might    be  tee,  that  a  very  considerable  proportion  of  all  the  money  thus 
effected.     ^{^  for  collection   might  be  saved,  -if  the  collectors  were 
brought  under  the  control  of  the  Board  of  Inland  Revenue, 
and  required  to  make  their  payments  daily  or  weekly. 
Payments      Besides  the  amount  paid  to  the  collectors,  a  sum  of  78,0002. 
0  a  year  is  deducted  as  poundage  by  the  clerks  of  the  Land 
Commis-    Tax  Commissioners,  numbering  altogether  656.     These  clerks 
are  usually  professional  men.     Adding  this  amount  to  the 
collectors'  poundage,  the  sum  deducted  from  gross  revenue 
might    be  is  fully  accounted  for.     Mr.  Pressly  urges  that  the  clerks 
should  be  paid  for  their  attendance  upon  the  Commissioners, 
and  for  copies  of  assessments  ;  and  that  the  greater  propor- 
tion of  this  poundage  might  thereby  be  saved. 
EXCISE.       With  respect  to  the  Excise.     It  is  difficult  to  get  at  the 
precise  number  of  officers  employed  in  this  service.     It  ap- 
pears by  the  evidence  of  Mr.  Pressly,  the  chairman,  that  after 
the  consolidation  of  the  stamps  and  taxes  with  the  Excise, 
NO.  of  under  one  department  of  Inland  Revenue,  in  1848,  the  num- 
^er  °^  om"cers  employed  was  5,028,  whose  salaries  amounted 
to  655,6182.     In  1861  the  number  of  officers  employed  was 
5,088,*  and  their  salaries  amounted  to  792,4642. 
Seduction     Now,  between  1848  and  1861,  the  Inland  Revenue  had 
in  IrtSfde-  been  relieved  of  many  most  onerous  duties  of  collection.     In 
partment    ^he  Excise  department  the  duties  on  bricks  and  soap  had  been 
remitted:  in  the  Stamp  department  the  newspaper  stamp 
duty,  which  occasioned  great  trouble  in  stamping,  and  the 
not  follow-  Advertisement  duty,  which  occasioned  cost  in  collecting.     In 
du  Km7ri^ie  ^ax  department,  the  window  duty  —  a  very  troublesome 
cost  of  man-  tax  —  had  also  been  repealed.     In  the  wiiole,  the  amount  of 
duties    remitted    and    abolished    between   1849    and   1861 


*  Irrespective  of  the  Distributors  and  Sub-distributors  of  Stamps. 


SBC.  I.]  COLLECTION  OF  THE  EEVENUE.  141 

amounted  to  close  upon  4*000,0002.  yearly,  and  yet  we  find  CHAP^X. 
the  officers  of  the  department  augmented  in  number,  and 
their  salaries  increased  to  the  enormous  amount  of  137,OOOZ. 


a  year.* 


This  increase  is  not  accounted  by  the  Commissioners.  Their     Limited 

•  i'ii  reductions 

reports  only  regret  the  small  reductions  which  they  are  able  in    conse- 

T       .      ,1     r        ,,.,.•,  ,    .  «  *,  .     qucnce    of 

to  make  in  their  establishment  in  consequence  of  the  remis-  the  repeal 
sion  of  duties.     "When  the  paper  duty  was  repealed,  l 


were  enabled  to  reduce  183  officers  —  not  a  very  large  number 

out  of  their  immense  force.     They  regret  that  the  repeal  of  and     Hop 

the  hop  duty  "did  not  enable  them  to  effect  any  reduction  of 

"their  established  staff."     On  the  contrary,  the  Commission- 

ers have  been  recently  applying  to  the  Treasury  to  authorize 

an  addition  to  their  staff  specially  for  performance  of  duties 

under  the  Legacy  and  Succession  Duties  Act.f 

The  officers  of  Excise  have  usually  been  regarded  as  the    Proposal 

J  to  consoli- 

worst  paid  of  any  Government  officers  ;  yet  their  salaries  and  date     the 
superannuation  allowance's  amount  to  very  nearly  1,000,0002.  customs? 
annually.     Could  no  part  of  this  heavy  charge  be  saved  ?    Mr. 
Horsfall  appears  to    be  of  opinion  that  the  duties  of  the 
Excise  and  Custom-house  offices  might  be  consolidated  ;  and 
although  this  idea  is  not  approved  by  the  Commissioners  of 
Inland  Revenue,  it  is  very  strongly  supported  by  some  of  the 
revenue  officers.     The  evidence  contains  practical  illustrations 
of  the  working  of  the  present  system  of  collecting  the  revenue, 
which  seems,  at  any  rate,  to  show  that  a  vast  saving  might  be 
effected  by  a  little  re-arrangement  and  co-operation.     There  saying  tri- 
are  forty  seaports,  for  example,  at  which  tlie  Excise  have  both  Duplicate1 
a  collector  of  Inland  Revenue  and  a  distributor  of  stamps,  ofi 
and  the  Customs,  at  the  same  time,  a  collector  of  Customs' 


*  To  show  the  increase  in  all  departments,  it  may  be  noted  that  in  1851  the 
number  of  persons  employed  in  the  Secretary's  Office  of  Stamps  and  Taxes  was 
27,  at  salaries  amounting  to  6,033£.;  whilst  iii  1861  the  number  employed  was  35, 
at  salaries  amounting  to  10,160£.  a  year.  The  number  of  different  "  forms  "  in  use 
by  the  Inland  Eevenue  exceeds  2,000,  and  in  1861  they  issued  of  them  no  less  than 
25,450,000  !  The  cost  of  all  this  printing  falls  on  "  Stationery,"  and  is  not  charged 
in  the  accounts  of  the  department. 

t  The  Commissioners  probably  find  these  applications  very  well  received,  as  the 
Treasury  officials  have  most  of  the  patronage. 


142  ON  TAXATION.  [SEC.  i. 


AP^IX.  duties.  At  Liverpool  the  salaries  'of  these  three  officials  ap- 
proximate closely  on  5,OOOZ.  a  year.  In  the  different  docks 
throughout  the  kingdom  there  is  an  Excise  officer  to  calculate 
the  export  of  beer  and  spirits  entitled  to  drawback,  and  a 
Customs'  officer  to  record  the  quantity  exported.  There  is  a 
Receiver-General  of  Customs,  and  a  Receiver-General  of 
Inland  Revenue,  with  a  staff  of  clerks  whose  salaries  amount 
to  11,800^.,  whose  duties  are  to  keep  an  account  of  the  money 
paid  into  the  Bank  of  England  —  an  account  in  which  the 
Bank  pass-book  no  doubt  materially  assists  them.  It  is 
thought  that  these  offices  might  be  consolidated  with  advan- 
tage, and  that  so,  in  fact,  might  most  of  the  various  depart- 
ments of  these  two  branches  of  the  revenue.  Certainly  it 
would  be  very  desirable  if  they  could;  for  the  difference 
between  the  gross  and  the  net  revenue  of  this  department  is 
a  serious  deduction  from  the  revenue  of  the  Exchequer. 
THE  IN-  The  collection  of  the  income-tax  ought  to  entail  less  cost 
than  that  of  any  other  branch  of  the  revenue  ;  but  such  does 
not  seem  to  be  the  case.  The  poundage  paid  to  the  collectors, 
who  are  appointed  by  the  local  Commissioners,  is  nearly 
double  the  amount  paid  for  the  collection  of  other  assessed 
taxes,  and  there  have  been  occasions  in  wThich,  through  the 
defective  state  of  the  law,  the  collectors  have  been  able  to 
deduct  double  the  amount  which  it  was  intended  they  should 
receive.* 
Opinion  of  Upon  the  question  of  the  cost  of  collecting  the  income-tax, 

the  Inland  T  -.  .          ,     ,,  .  ,  *  .  . 

Revenue  I  am,  however,  relieved  from  the  necessity  of  making  any 
sio™er81S~on  further  observations  by  a  circular  of  the  Board  of  Inland 
tion  o?thliKevemie>  wnicl1  has  been  laicl  Before  Parliament.  The  Corn- 
Tax.  missioners  say  — 

"  This  Board  has,  for  some  time  past,  been  strongly  im- 
"  pressed  with  the  imperfection  of  the  present  system  of  as- 


*  An  occurrence  of  this  sort  took  place  in  1855,  when  the  income-tax  was  doubled, 
to  meet  the  expenses  of  the  Russian  war.  The  Act  having  made  no  abatement  of 
the  commission  payable  to  the  collectors,  &c.,  they  suddenly  found  their  commis- 
sions doubled  without  being  subject  to  any  additional  trouble  in  collection.  One 
collecting  officer  in  the  City  of  London  received  in  that  one  year  upwards  of 
7,OOOZ.  for  his  poundage  ;  to  which,  it  may  be  observed,  that  by  the  law  he  was 
justly  entitled. 


SEC.  I.j  COLLECTION  OF  THE   BEVENUE.  143 

"  sessing  and  collecting  the  income-tax Recent  events  CHAP.  IX. 

"have  tended  much  to  strengthen  this  impression.  Great 
"frauds  have  leen  committed  by  assessors  and  collectors  in 
"  large  and  wealthy  districts,  to  the  detriment  of  the  revenue, 
"but  still  more  to  that  of  individual  tax-payers;  and  the 
"  means  of  perpetrating  these  frauds,  as  well  as  of  escape  from 
"the  punishment  which  should  follow  detection,  have  been 
"afforded  by  the  imperfect,  though  elaborate  machinery, 
"  which  is  at  present  in  use." 

After  such  a  statement  as  this  by  those  who  are  responsible 
for  the  management  of  the  levy  and  the  collection  of  the  rev- 
enue, we  need  scarcely  wonder  at  the  apparently  large  amount 
of  the  cost  of  collection. 

The  enormous  expenditure  of  the  Post  Office,  and  the  very    P°8T  °F- 

.  *    FIOE        AtfD 

disproportionate  sum  of  money  deducted  from  the  gross  reve-  CROWN 
nue  of  the  Crown  Lands,  have  already  been  remarked  upon 
in  the  chapters  relating  to  those  branches  of  taxation.  It  is 
only  needful  to  observe,  therefore,  that  in  both  those  cases 
the  amount  which  forms  "  the  difference"  between  the  gross 
and  the  net  revenue  of  those  departments  is  actually  less  than 
the  amount  of  the  expenditure  which  the  reports  of  the  de- 
partments acknowledge  to  have  been  incurred  in  costs  of 
management  and  collection.  The  difference  in  the  case  of 
the  Post  Office  has  been  made  up  by  a  public  grant ;  in  that 
of  the  Crown  Lands,  by  the  application  of  a  portion  of  a 
large  balance  in  hand. 

It  is  probable  that  the  cost  of  collecting  our  revenue  has    Want  of 
been  largely  augmented  by  the  system  which  has  left  the  amhorHy g 
expenditure  of  each  department  practically  unchecked   by  £itlf ealj"J 
:any  superior  authority.     It  was,  no  doubt,  a  step  in  the  right  public  mo- 
direction  to  enact  that  the  gross  revenue  should  be  paid  up ; 
;and  it  is  much  to  be  desired  that  the  law  to  that  effect  should 
be  rigidly  enforced,  instead  of  being  set  at  nought,  as  it  ap- 
pears to  be  more  or  less  by  almost  every  revenue  department. 
But  this  alone  will  not  suffice.     A  rigid  periodical  scrutiny 
into  the  accounts  is  needed ;  and  without  that — if  we  are  to 
judge  by  experience  of  the  past — reduction  of  the  cost  of 
collection  might  be  considered  hopeless. 

Happily,  there  are  indications  which  may  induce  expecta- 


144  ON  TAXATION.  [Sao.  I. 


HAP^IX.  tions  of  improvement.     A  session  or  two  since,  the  House  of 
The  House  Commons  appointed  a  standing  committee,  to  be  designated 
mons>     n~"the  Committee  of  Public  Accounts."     In  April,  1862,  it 
5°m™uMc  was  resolved,  that  the  order  for  the  appointment  of  this  Com- 
AoconntB.  mittee  should  be  "a  standing  order  of  the  House."     Up  to 
the  present  time  the  Public  Accounts  Committee  have  chiefly 
•  devoted  themselves  to  examinations  of  the  way  in  which  the 
public  accounts  are  audited  ;  which  they  have  found  to  be 
very  loose,  imperfect,  and  unsatisfactory.     Last  session,  this 
Committee  went  a  step  further,  and  instituted  some  inquiries 
as  to  the  way  in  which  the  public  moneys,  voted  by  Parlia- 
ment, were  dealt  with  and  treated  by  the  departments  en- 
trusted with  their  management.     We  shall  have,  presently, 
to  consider  some  of  the  results  of  such  investigations.     In 
the  meantime,  it  is  sufficient  to  express  a  hope  that  the  la- 
bours of  this  Committee,  uninfluenced  and  undeterred  by 
Government  control,  and  independently,  fearlessly,  and  faith- 
fully prosecuted,  may  tend  to  prevent  many  of  the  abuses, 
both  of  omission  and  of  commission,  to  which  the  preceding 
pages  have  borne  record. 


SECTION  II. 

TAX  AT  ION: 

ITS    EXPENDITURE. 


GHAPTEE  I. 

GEOSS    EXPENDITURE. 

To  estimate  correctly  the  character  of  our  present  Expen-  CHAP.  i. 
diture,  it  is  desirable  briefly  to  review  the  past.     In  1792,      Review 
the  last  year  before  the  war  with  France,  the  total  annual 


expenditure  of  the  United  Kingdom  was  under  20,000,OOOZ.    Expcndi- 
of   money.     The   exact   total    was   19,859,1232.,   of   which*11 
9,767,333£.  was  applied  to  pay  the  interest  on  the  National 
Debt,  and  2,421,681£.  towards  the  redemption  of  that  debt. 
The  remainder  (7,670,1092.)  sufficed  for  the  entire  current 
public  expenditure  !     Indeed,  that  amount  appears  to  have 
been  considered  excessive  ;  for,  according  to  the  Keport  of  a 
Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  on  Income  and  Expen- 
diture in  1791,  the  following  was  the  amount  of  the  current 
expenditure  of  the  year  preceding  :  — 

Navy  ..........................................  £2,000,000 

Army  ..........................................    1,844,153 

Ordnance  .......................................       375,000 

Civil  List  .......................................      898,000 

Charges  on  Consolidated  Fund  .....  .  .............      105,385 

Miscellaneous  Services  ...........................      168,668 

£5,391,206 

10 


146 


TAXATION:  ITS   EXPENDITURE. 


[SEC.  II. 


GHAP-  T-       The  outbreak  of  war,  however,  had  the  immediate  effect 
increased  of  largely  increasing  the  expenditure  of  the  country.     It  rose 

expend!-  /.  -,,  J 

ture  conse-  &S  lOliOWS  I — 


quent     on 
the  War. 


EXPENDITURE. 


1792 £19,859,123 

1793 24,197,070 

1794 27,742,117 

1795 48,414,177 

1796 42,175,291 


YEAR. 


EXPENDITURE. 


1797 £50,740,609 

1798 51,127.245 

1799 55,624J404 

1800 56,82]  ,267 

1801 61,329,179 


An  increase  of  more  than  300  per  cent,  in  ten  years ! 

Reduction     The  Peace  of  Amiens  enabled  an  immediate  reduction 

i802.eaC3mto  be  made  in  this  expenditure.     For  the  next  two  years  it 

was — 

YEAR.  EXPENDITURE. 

1802 £49,549,207 

1803 48,998,230 

Rapid  in- But  war  breaking  out  again,  it  increased  as  follows  : — 

crease  on 
therenewal 
of  War. 


YEAR. 


EXPENDITURE.    YEAR. 


1804 £59,376,208 

1805 67,169,318 

1806 68,941,211 

1807 67,613,042 

1808 73,143,087 

1809 76,566,013 


EXPENDITURE. 


1810 £76,865,548 

1811 83,735,223 

1812 88,757,324 

1813 . . , 105,948,727 

1814 10^,832,260 

1815 92,280,180 


Enormous     Thus  we  see  the  effect  of  this  protracted  war  in  raising  the 
tureendljbe-  expenditure  of  the  country  from  twenty  to  upwards  of  a 
93  hundred  millions  annually.     Between  the  years  1793  and 
1816,  the  total  net  revenue  from  all  sources,  paid  into  the 
Exchequer,  was  not  less  than  1,081,513,3822. !     But  the  ex- 
cess of  the  expenditure  over  this  enormous  revenue  was  no 
less  than  172,593,8792. !     The  annual  charge  upon  the  debt, 
which  on  the  5th  January,  1793,  was  under  9,500,0002.,  was, 
'on  5th  January,  1816,  nearly  32,500,OOOZ. 

Eeduc-     From  1815  to  1840  the  expenditure  of  the  nation  was  re- 
tween  1815  duced :    the  following    account   will   show   by  what   slow 

and  1840 .     gradations  '.— 


SEO.  II.] 


GROSS  EXPENDITURE. 


YEAR.  EXPENDITURE. 

1816 £65,169,771 

1821 57,130,586 

1826 55,081,073 


YEAR.  EXPENDITURE.      CHAP    I. 

1831 £49,797,156 

1836 48,093,196 

1840 49,169,552 


The  smallest  expenditure  during  this  interval  of  twenty-five 
years  was  in  1835,*  when  the  expenditure  amounted  to 
45,782,0262.* 

From  the  year  1840  up  to  the  period  of  the  Crimean  War,    Expendi- 
in  1854,  the  expenditure  of  the  country  underwent  an  in-  tween  1840 
crease ;— an  increase,  however,  not  very  considerable  in  itself, and  18°4' 
and,    perhaps,   not    very    disproportioned    to    the    greatly 
increased  wealth  and  prosperity  of  the  people.     The  expendi- 
ture was — 

YEAR.  EXPENDITURE. 

1841 £50,185,729 

1844 52,211,009 

1847 54,502,947 

1850 50,231,874 

1853 51,174,840 

During  this  interval  the  expenditure  was  highest  in  184T, 
and  lowest  in  1851,  when  it  amounted  to  49,500,000^. 

The  years  1854-55-56  were  years  (the  first  and  last  Expendi- 
partly,  and  1855  wholly)  of  war.  Our  expenditure  was  the*3  U?ri? 
greatlv  increased  :—  mean  war- 


YEAR. 


EXPENDITURE. 


1854 £60,031,568 

1855 84,505,788 

1856 78,113,035 

On  the.  restoration  of  peace,  the  expenditure  was  not  restored    Expendi- 
ture   from 


to  the  peace-  footing.     It  was  in 

YEAR.  EXPENDITURE. 

1857 £66,019,958 

1858 60,684,898 

1859 63,679,674 

1860 68,069,231 

1861 66,120,092t 


1857 
1862. 


to 


*  The  estimates  of  1835  were  prepared  by  the  short-lived  Government  of  Sir 
Robert  Peel,  which  came  into  office  in  November,  1834,  and  resigned  on  the  8th 
April  following.  These  estimates  exhibited  the  smallest  amount  of  expenditure 
during  any  year  in  the  present  century. 

t  This  is  "the  expenditure  out  of  revenue  paid  into  the  Exchequer,  exclusive  of 


14:8  TAXATION:  ITS  EXPENDITUKE.  [SEC.  II. 


The  Crimean  "War,  therefore,  not  only  cost  us  70,000,OOOZ. 

Cost  of  the  of  money  in  the  three  years  through  which  it  spread,  but  it 
has  cost  us  nearly  70,000,000^.  more  in  the  form  of  in- 
creased expenditure  during  the  years  since  peace  has  been 
concluded.  We  have,  in  fact,  spent,  between  1853  and  1863, 
a  sum  approaching  150,000,000^.  more«than  we  should  have 
spent  had  our  expenditure  been  continued  upon  the  estimates 
of  1853,  the  year  before  the  war  commenced. 
Large  It  will  be  observed,  from  the  foregoing  statistics,  that  the 
actual  expenditure  of  the  nation  during  the  last  two  years 

?a°ine<l  am~  has  keen  higher  than  that  of  any  year  since  1816,  except 
during  the  years  of  the  Crimean  War.  We  have  been,  in 
fact,  maintaining  a  war  expenditure  equal  to  that  incurred 
in  most  of  the  years  of  the  long  European  war.  The  taxa- 
tion necessary  to  cover  this  expenditure  has  been  borne  with 
unparalleled  complacency  and  willingness  by  every  class  of 
society.  But,  looking  calmly  at  this  increase  of  expenditure, 
can  it  be  thought  that  an  increase  of  SIXTEEN  MILLIONS  per 
annum  upon  the  expenditure  of  ten  years  ago  is  justifiable, 
or  that  its  continuance  can  be  submitted  to  ?  Excess  and 
prodigality  in  public  expenditure  is  as  great  an  evil  as  rash 
and  ill-considered  reduction.  A  wise  discretion  is  required, 
as  well  of  a  nation  as  of  an  individual,  in  the  use  of  the 
means  at  its  command  ;  and  an  expenditure  beyond  the  legi- 
timate necessity  of  a  nation  is  more  than  a  mere  pecuniary 
waste  —  it  is  a  great  political  and  moral  evil. 

We  have  next  to  examine  how  this  expenditure  has  been 
incurred,  and  how,  without  disadvantage,  it  may  be  speedily 
reduced. 


payments  for  collection  of  revenue."  "  The  actual  expenditure  of  I860  "  was  stated 
by  Mr.  Gladstone,  in  his  Budget-speech  of  1861,  at  72,842,000^.,  and  the  actual 
expenditure  of  1861  was  72,086,485^.  "But even  this  account,"  he  adds,  "requires 
some  rectification."  The  fact  is  that,  under  the  existing  system,  it  is  all  but  im- 
possible to  get  at  an  absolutely  correct  account,  either  of  gross  revenue  or  gross 
expenditure.  I  am  compelled,  therefore,  to  take  the  account  as  it  is  given,  on  the 
authority  of  the  "  Statistical  Abstract  of  the  United  Kingdom,"  laid,  by  command, 
before  both  Houses  of  Parliament ;  and  I  prefer  using  the  tables  in  that  Abstract 
(although  they  are  exclusive  of  payments  for  cost  of  collection  of  revenue)  to  ex- 
posing myself  to  any  charge  of  exaggeration. 


CHAPTEE  II. 


THE   ARMY. 

THE  expenditure  of  the  nation  on  the  Army  and  Ordnance  CHAP.  II. 
amounted  in  1844  to  8,103,OOOZ.     In  1853,  the  year  before      ~Anny 
the  Crimean  War,  it  was  9,685,0002.     Passing  over  the  three  t^m*. 
succeeding  years,  which  may  be  considered  years  of  war,  we    1853. 
find  it,  in  1857,  13,616,0002. ;  but  this  year  is  noted  in  the    1857. 
Imperial  accounts  as  exceptional,  in  consequence  of  a  Chinese 
War  and  a  Persian  Expedition.     The  following  has  been  the 
expenditure  in  each  year  since : — 

YEAR.  EXPENDITURE. 

1858 £12,818,736  1858 

1859 14,836,300 

1860 17,470,574  to 

1861 15,709,299 

1862  (estimate) 15,302,870  1863. 

The  high  estimates  for  1858  were  excused  upon  the  ground     Seasons 
that  there  were  moneys  to  be  defrayed   "  for  the  expenses  fhi?nedin- 
of  the  late  war  with  Kussia;"  those  of  1859,  on  the  ground  crease' 
that  there  was  still  a  balance  to  pay  on  the  same  account,  as 
well  as  the  expenses  of  another  "  China  Expedition."     But 
for  the  additional  cost  of  the  Army  in  1860,  no  plea  con- 
nected with  either  an  European  or  an  Asiatic  war  could  be 
offered ;  and  the  money  was  boldly  demanded  on  the  ground 
that  "  the  addition  was  necessary." 

In  the  ten  years  from  1853  to  1863,  we  have  thus  incurred  Permanent 
a  permanent  annual  burden  of  Five  Millions,  or  more  than  deiTimpos- 
fifty  per  cent.,  for  our  Army. 

Now,  it  appears  from  the  Eeport  of  the  Committee  of  185J,  Number 
on  Army  and  Ordnance  Expenditure,  that  from  the  year  our  Army, 


150  TAXATION:  ITS  EXPENDITURE.  [SKO.  II. 


AP^II.  1828  to  1850,  the  number  of  men  of  all  ranks  in  our  army 
iS28toi850.  never  exceeded  100,000.     The  smallest  number  was  in  1835 
and  183  7,  in  which  years   the  rank   and   file  were   69,477: 
the  largest  number  was  in  1846,  when  the  establishment  was 
100,600. 

i85i.  The  number  of  men  voted  in  1850-51,  was  99,128.     At 

that  time  the  force  serving  in  India  was  30,497.     At  the  out- 

1854.       break  of  the  "Crimean  War,  1853-54,  the  number  of  men 

1863.       voted  was  132,032.     But,  for  1862-63,  the  number  of  men 

voted  was  145,450  ;  in  addition  to  which  the  force  on  the 

Indian  Establishment,  now  amalgamated  with  our  Army, 

was  83,523—  making  a  total  of  228,973,  officers  and  men  ! 

In.twelve  years  our  Army  has  been  increased  nearly  one- 

third  in  number. 

The  re-     The  inevitable  result  is  largely  increased   expenditure. 
creased  S-  From  1848,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  following  account,  the 
penditure.  military  expenditure  of  the  country  has  been  increasing,  until 
it  has  nearly  doubled  itself:  — 

COST  OF  THE  AEMY,  INCLUDING  ORDNANCE. 


1849 '. £8,881,141 

1850 8,955,061 

1851 8,723,946 

1852 9,509,962 

1853 9,685,079 

1854 12,397,273 


1856 £25,049,825 

1857 13,616,556 

1858 12,818,736 

1859 14,836,300 

1860 17,470,574 

1861 15,709,299 


1855 29,377,349  j  1862 15,302,870 

The  per-      This  account  will  show — though  it  will  only  very  partially 

burdens     snow — what  war  costs  us.     ~Not  only  was  the  cost  of  our 

created  by  Army,  in  1855,  more  than  treble  what  it  was  in  1853,  before 

the  breaking  out  of  the  war ;  but  a  war  expenditure  once 

increased,  it  is  impossible  to  bring  it  back  to  the  scale  of  the 

original   peace   establishment.     If  we   consider  the  matter 

calmly,  we  shall  see  that  there  are  several  causes  for  this. 

Difficulty  When  an  addition  is  once  made  to  an  establishment,  it  is 

estab1ish-g  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  suddenly  to  cut  it  down.     Every 

ments-       man  clings  to  the  post  to  which  he  has   been  appointed ; 

pleads  his  services ;  and,  instead  of  expecting  to  retire  wrhen 

those  services  are  no  longer  needed,  urges  them  as  a  claim 


SEC.  II.]  THE  ARMY.  151 

for    promotion    and   additional  emolument.     Then,  as  the  CHAP.  n. 
Army  is  officered  from  amongst  those  who  move  in  the  upper  Feeling  of 
ranks  of  society,  the  Government  are  afraid  of  the  unpopu-^ent^6 
larity  which  might  result  from  reduction,  and,  consequently, 
do  not  propose  it.     To  this  is  to  be  added,  the  love  of  mili- 
tary display,  which  prevails  more  or  less  in  every  nation,  and  of        the 
of  which  we  have  had  a  remarkable  instance  lately,  in  the pe 
popularity  of  our  Volunteer  Corps ;  and  also  the  natural  con- 
sequence of  war,  which  "grows  with  what  it  feeds  on,"  and 
induces  belligerent  feelings  even  when  peace  is  restored. 

All  these  things  tend  to  reconcile  Parliament  and  the  public  and  of  Par- 
to  a  large  expenditure  for  military  purposes  after  the  close  of  rebooting 
a  war.     The  same  state  of  things  existed  in  1816.     It  was  not reductions- 
until  twelve  years  after  the  close  of  the  war  with  France,  that 
the  country  was  brought  to  insist  "  on  a  strict  adjustment  of  The  army 
"  the  numbers  of  the  military  and  naval  forces,  so  as  not  to  strictly  ad- 
"  exceed  what  is  really  necessary  for  the  peace  and  security  \^d    ^ 
"  of  the  Empire."     There  can  be  little  doubt,  however,  that  necessary, 
that  principle  is  the  right  one  on  which  to  deal  with  our 
military  and  naval  establishments.     The  Army  and  Navy 
are  great  sources  of  expense  to  our  nation  even  in  time  of 
peace,  and  the  taxpayers  of  the  country  have  no  right  to  be 
called  upon  to  maintain  establishments  for  which  there  is  no 
occasion. 

Let  us  inquire,  then,  what  occasion  is  there  for  an  army    ^  is  the 
of  145,000  men  in  1863,  when  an  army  of  99,000  men  suffi-  crease 

Cedinl852?  necessary? 

A  Committee  of  Finance,  which  sat  in  the  days  of  the  un- 
reformed  House  of  Commons,  laid  down  a  principle  which 
ought  to  be  treated  as  a  golden  rule.     "  The  principle  On 
"  which  we  should  deal  with  our  military  and  naval  forces 
"  ought  not,"  they  said,  "  on  any  account  to  be  given  up  to 
"speculative  apprehensions."     The  idea  of  being  at  all  times  "Specuia- 
"  prepared  for  war,"  the  fear  that  some  foreign  Power  or  an- h Jnsfons"" 
other  may,  at  some  time  or  another,  declare  war ; — these  are  tomfluence 
not  considerations  which  ought  to  influence  England  in  the  ™j^ibS 
adjustment  of  her  forces.     The  reliance  of  our  nation  is  to  be  ments. 
placed  on  something  more  effective  even  than  a  standing 
army.     Our  insular  position,  our  natural  resources,  our  na- 


152  TAXATION  :  ITS  EXPENDITURE.  [Sac.  II. 

.    .    ..         jj^tj  our  freedom  from  internal  discords,  —  these  always 


have  been,  and  always  will  be,  the  real  sources  of  our  strength. 
In  time  of  peace,  a  standing  army,  with  all  its  vast  attendant 
charges,  and  its  disposition  for  active  duty,  always  must  be 
a  source  of  weakness.  "  It  is  particularly  necessary,"  report- 
ed the  Committee  of  Finance  in  182T,  "  carefully  to  examine 
"  the  warnings  and  statements  of  those  who,  from  their  posi- 
"  tions,  are  liable  to  be  led,  by  professional  feelings,  to 
"  recommend  a  higher  standard  of  preparation  than  a  less 
"  biassed  state  of  circumstances  might  suggest." 
The  state  In  1831,  when  the  military  and  other  authorities  clamoured 

of   Europe  „  . 

in  1881  lor  more  troops,  it  was  urged  that  they  were  necessary  in 
consequence  of  the  revolutions  in  France,  Belgium,  and 
Poland,  and  the  disturbed  state  of  the  agricultural  districts  at 
home.  But  what  resulted  ?  The  revolution  in  France  favour- 
ed the  continuance  of  peace;  that  of  Belgium  secured  to 
England  a  powerful  ally  on  the  European  continent  ;  that  of 
Poland  provided  employment  for  the  troops  of  the  great 
Northern  Powers  in  securing  internal  order,  and,  conse- 
quently, gave  increased  security  against  continental  wars. 
contrasted  In  the  state  of  Europe  in  our  day,  there  is  certainly  nothing 
state  in  half  so  threatening  as  there  was  in  1831.  There  are  neither 
wars  nor  revolutions  to  affright  us.  Nations  have  learnt,  by 
additional  experience,  the  costly  and  barren  character  of 
military  triumphs.  The  discovery  of  the  true  source  of 
wealth  in  commercial  intercourse  has  shown  them  the  folly  of 
wasting  life  and  treasure  for  profitless  contentions.  No  civ- 
ilized nation  now  anticipates  national  advantages  from  resort 
to  war  ;  it  knows  that  its  own  best  interests  are  bound  up 
with  the  preservation  of  peace.  The  laws  which  obstructed 
trade,  and  respecting  which  we  went  to  war  (with  Spain  for 
example)  in  the  last  century,  are  expunged  from  their  statutes. 
The  people  of  every  European  country  exhibit  the  utmost 
anxiety  to  cultivate  the  arts  of  peace,  and  acknowledge  that 
the  best  mode  of  doing  so  is  to  foster  friendly  relations  with 
others. 

state  of  If  no  ground,  therefore,  exists  for  anticipating  a  foreign 
aud  Ireland  war,  what  is  there  in  the  state  of  our  affairs  at  home  to  call 
18638.31  and  for  an  increase  of  military  force  ?  In  1831,  England  was.  dis- 


SEC.  II.]  THE  ARMY.  153 

turbed  by  a  distressed  population,  and  Ireland  was  agitated  CHAP.  II. 
both  by  political  and  religious  discords.  Ireland  is  now  not 
only  tranquil,  but  is  entering  on  a  career  of  prosperity  hith- 
erto absolutely  unknown  to  what  used  once  to  be  called  "  that 
unhappy  country  !"  Amongst  ourselves,  there  never  was  a 
period  known  in  English  history  when  the  people  were  so 
satisfied  with  their  condition,  or  so  contented  with  the  author- 
ity under  which  they  live.  It  is  curious  to  reflect  how, 
within  the  last  twenty  years,  the  causes  of  disorder  amongst 
us  have  subsided.*  During  the  whole  interval,  it  is  almost 
impossible  to  point  to  an  occasion  in  which  the  military  power 
has  been  called  upon  to  act. 

If  neither  abroad  or  at  home,  where,  then,  are  our  soldiery     Number 
required  ?     Is  it  in  the  Colonies  ?     Since  1850,  when  99,000  reqniredfor 
men  sufficed  for  us,  we  have  added  in  no  way  to  our  colonial1  ^ 
empire  ;  and  the  growth  of  our  colonies  in  riches  ought  to 
enable  them  to  contribute  to  their  own  military  and  civil 
government.     30,000  troops  used  to  be  considered  a  very 
liberal  complement  for  our  colonies  :  we  have  at  the  present 
time  42,000  distributed  amongst  them.     In  1861,  a  Commit-    Keportof 
tee  of  the  House  of  Commons^  was  appointed,  to  consider  our  mfttee 
"  Colonial  military  expenditure."     That  Committee  expressed 


itself  decidedly  in  favour  of  limiting  our  expenditure  upon 

J  °  *-        penditure. 

forces  in  the  colonies.  It  expressed  its  opinion  that  the 
number  of  Imperial  troops  in  Australia  ought  to  be  reduced  ; 
that  the  colonists  in  New  Zealand  and  South  Africa  ought  to 
rely,  for  their  defence  against  native  tribes,  on  local  efforts, 
local  organization,  and  a  spirit  of  self-reliance  ;  that  Ceylon 
should  bear  a  large  proportion  of  the  cost  of  maintaining  its 
troops  ;  that  the  defence  of  the  West  Indies,  in  time  of  war, 
must  be  principally  naval,  and  that  it  was  inexpedient  to 
maintain  scattered  detachments  of  troops  in  those  islands,  to 
perform  the  duties  of  a  local  police.  The  Committee  further 
submitted,  that  "the  tendency  of  modern  warfare  is  to  strike 


*  Eiots,  frame  breaking,  &c.,  were  sufficiently  frequent  during  the  early  part 
of  the  century,  when  the  people  were  ill-employed ;  but  of  late  years  there  is 
scarcely  an  instance  of  a  military  force  having  been  required  to  abate  serious  riot- 
ing since  the  Chartist  riots  in  Wales  in  1839. 


154  TAXATION:  ITS  EXPENDITURE.  [SEC.  II. 


nAJ>-  n-  "  blows  at  the  heart  of  a  hostile  power,  and  that  it  was  there- 
u  fore  desirable  to  concentrate  the  troops  required  for  the  de- 
"  fence  of  the  United  Kingdom,  and  to  trust  mainly  to  naval 
"  supremacy  for  securing  against  foreign  aggression  the  dis- 
"  tant  dependencies  of  the  Empire."     It  is  therefore,  accord- 
ing to  the  Report  of  this  Committee,  neither  necessary  nor 
desirable  to  increase  our  army  for  colonial  purposes. 
The      It  has  to  be  considered,  in  dealing  with  the  expenses  of  the 
Army,  that  the  number  of  men  voted  by  Parliament  governs 
§°thenum  evei7  °tner  item  of  expense.     Every  additional  soldier  must 
ber  of  men  not  only  be  paid,  but  he  must  be  armed,  and  clothed,  and 
housed.     Each  additional  man,  accordingly,  entails  a  charge 
for  pay,  for  allowances,  for  accoutrements,  for  clothing  and 
necessaries,  for  provisions,  for  forage,  for  fuel,  for  lights,  for 
barrick  furniture,  and  for  bedding.     If  he  is  required  to  serve 
at  home,  barrack  accommodation  must  be  provided.     If  he  is 
required  to  serve  abroad,  he  entails  a  large  additional  cost  for 
"•  transport.     Nor  is  this  all.     Soldiers  must  be  commanded  ; 

and,  therefore,  every  additional  body  of  men  entails  additional 
commanding  officers  ;  additional  commanding  officers  entail 
additional  staffs  and  additional  commands  ;  additional  com- 
mands require  additions  to  the  departments  of  the  Secretary 
of  State  for  War  and  the  General  Commanding-in-Chief  ;  — 
so  that  the  cost  of  every  department  of  the  effective  service 
of  the  Army  js  increased  by  the  enlistment  of  additional  men. 
And,  in  course  of  time,  all  this  leads  to  the  increase  of  the 
cost  of  the  non-effective  service  ;  to  increased  pensions  and 
allowances  ;  in-pensions  and  out-pensions  ;  superannuations  ; 
pay  of  retired  officers  ;  pay  of  reduced  officers  ;  widows'  pen- 
sions ;  compassionate  allowances,  and  all  the  other  cost  of 
this  branch  of  the  service  —  which  at  the  present  time  entails 
a  charge  of  over  Two  Millions  a  year. 

The  ratio  It  will  thus  be  easily  seen,  how  it  comes  that  the  increase 
?4reexapseesse  of  the  Army  from  99.000  men  in  1851  to  145,500  men  in 
largely  1362.  has  led  to  an  expenditure  of  15,300,0002.  instead  of  an 

with       an 

increase  of  expenditure  of  9,500,0002.     The  ratio  of  expense,  it  might  be 
men.  ,  -I-IT-.I          ,T  i> 

supposed,  would  dimmish  as  the  number  ot  men  increases; 

but,  on  the  contrary,  it  increases  with  each  successive  addi- 
tion, because  each  successive  addition  to  the  number  of  men 


SEO.  II.]  THE  ARMY.  155 

necessitates  an  addition  to  the  higher  and  more  costly  branches  CHAP.  n. 
of  the  service.     The  only  way,  therefore,  of  keeping  down 
the  expenses  of  the  Army  is  to  keep  down  the  number  of 
men. 

The  cry  for  a  large  military  establishment  has  been  fre-  is  a 
quently  supported  by  the  declaration  that  we  only  increase  armyneces- 
our  armaments  for  "  self-defence,"  and  that  it  is  necessary  to  ^ 
maintain  a  standing  army  to  repel  invasion.  But  upon  this,  sion 
it  has  been  well  observed  that  "  if  we  are  so  alarmed  at  the 
"idea  of  a  French  invasion,  which  has  not  occurred  for  close 
"upon  eight  hundred  years,  we  may  excuse  the  people  of 
"  France  for  entertaining  similar  apprehensions,  seeing  that 
"  not  a  century  has  passed  since  the  Norman  Conquest,  in 
"  which  we  have  not  paid  hostile  visits  to  her  shores."  It 
would  not  be  difficult  to  show  that  the  additions  to  the 
strength  of  our  Army  have  had  no  reference  to  any  defence 
of  the  nation.  But  it  is  preferable  to  deal  with  the  question 
on  a  point  of  principle.  Is  it  any  security  for  the  continuance 
of  peace  to  be  prepared,  as  it  is  termed,  for  war  ?  May  not  Prepara- 


those  very  preparations  for  war,  in  time  of  peace,  excite  war,  4a?  either 


either  by  engendering  acrimonious  feelings  abroad,  or  exciting  exclte  war> 
a  thirst  for  martial  exploits  at  home?     If  neither  of  these  or  involve 
contingencies  should  occur,  will  not  all  the  trouble  and  allpenditure. 
the  cost  of  military  preparations  for  war  in  time  of  peace  be 
thrown  away  ?     It  ought,  moreover,  to  be  considered,  that 
the  facilities  for  the  preparations  for  war  are  far  greater  than 
they  were  some  years  ago.     Arms  can  be  manufactured,  am- 
munition can  be  supplied,  in  much  less  time  than  formerly  ; 
and  if  it  is  said  that  men  have  to  be  found,  the  recent  display 
of  true  British  spirit,  when  there  was  comparatively  little 
cause  for  it,  affords  proof  that,  if  British  arms  and  hearts 
were  required  for  the  defence  of  British  hearths,  there  would 
be  no  want  of  soldiers. 

The   securities   against  aggression  are  not,  indeed,  to  be         Evils 


£  3   •  •    i  j-  j.  •       n  •    -j.        i  •    i  n  fol- 

found  in  mighty  armaments,  but  in  the  spirit  winch  would  low  the 
intimidate  and  overbear  an  invader.  That  spirit  has  been£2|oe*"  Of 
wonderfully  exhibited  by  the  people  of  England  in  the  for- 
mation  of  Volunteer  corps,  in  which  we  have,  at  the  present 
time,  no  less  than  160,000  men  enlisted,  whose  numbers 


156  TAXATION  :  ITS  EXPENDITUKE.  [SEC.  II. 


Ap^n.  .would  no  doubt  be  largely  augmented  were  there  any  real 
occasion  for  an  augmentation.  Surely,  in  this  state  of  na- 
tional feeling,  a  large  standing  army  cannot  be  needed. 
Are  our  militia  and  volunteers  to  count  for  nothing,  in 
calculating  the  power  wTe  possess  of  overbearing  or  repelling 
an  enemy?* 

That  which  is  most  to  be  feared  from  a  standing  army  is, 
that  the  cost  it  entails  upon  the  people  will  lead  to  discon- 
tents, and  that  the  bayonets  intended  for  self-defence  may  be 
employed  and  directed  against  the  bosoms  of  the  people. 
sir  B.  "  The  danger  of  aggression,"  said  the  late  Sir  Robert  Peel, 
n'8  °Pof  "  *s  infinitely  less  than  the  danger  of  those  sufferings  to  which 
armies^     ^  present  exorbitant  expenditure  must  give  rise."     And 
this  was  spoken  in  1841,  when  the  military  expenditure  of 
the  country  was  trining.f 

Our  Mm-  It  is  difficult  to  contrast  the  items  of  expenditure  upon  the 
pSfditnre.  Army  of  to-day  with  the  items  of  even  a  few  years  back. 
This  difficulty  arises,  not  from  want  of  statistics,  but  because 
the  various  changes  which  have  been  made  in  military  de- 
partments —  the  amalgamation  of  the  Ordnance  and  the  Army 
—the  abolition  of  the  old  War  Office,  and  the  creation  of  the 
new  department  of  Secretary  of  State  for  War  —  have  led  to 
such  alterations  in  the  form  of  presenting  the  accounts,  that 
there  are  only  a  few  items  of  the  present  day  which  bear 
1862.  comparison  with  those  of  a  dozen  years  ago.  The  general 
estimates  for  the  military  expenditure  of  1862  may,  however, 
be  classified  as  follows  :  — 


*  I  have  heard  an  anecdote,  which  goes  to  prove  that  the  spirit  of  the  British 
people,  as  evinced  by  the  formation  of  Volunteer  corps,  has  had  a  far  greater  effect 
upon  foreign  countries  than  all  our  fortifications  or  standing  armies  ;  and  my  own 
observation  of  what  is  passing  in  continental  society  entirely  confirms  this  impres- 
sion. 

t  Sir  E.  Peel's  denunciations  of  War  are  very  remarkable.  In  the  same  speech 
he  observed: — "  Of  the  amount  of  time  and  capital  wasted  in  war  we  are  all  wit- 
"  nesses ;  and  I  can  only  say  that  if  all  the  capital  and  skill  wasted  in  those  pre- 
"  parations  were  sunk  in  the  sea,  though  that  would  be  useless,  it  would  not  be  so 
"  deeply  injurious  as  to  employ  them." 


SEC.  II.]  THE    AKMY.  157 

ARMY  EXPENDITURE.  CHAP.  II. 

Pay,  Allowances,  and  Miscellaneous  Charges  of  the  Army £6,274,155 

Warlike  Stores 2,060,276 

Provisions,  Forage,  Fuel,  &c 1,634,317 

Clothing  and  Necessaries 597,264 

Manufacturing  Establishments  and  Wages 1,100,242 

Fortifications,  Barracks,  and  Buildings 999,574 

Educational  and  Scientific  Branches 296,283 

Offices  of  Secretary  of  State  and  Commander-in-Chief 209,901 

13,172,012 
Non-effective  Services 2,130,858 


Total -. £15,302,870 

Let  us  inquire  into  a  few  details. 

In  the  item  of  Pay  and  Allowances  is  included  the  expen- 
diture upon  "  The  Staff."     In  1833,  a  Select  Committee  on        «  The 
Army  and  Navy  Appointments  called  upon  the  Government  ta  ' 
to  consider  whether,  without  detriment  to  the  public  service,    its  dimi- 
a  diminution  might  not  be  effected  in  the  rank,  numbers,  and  commend- 
emoluments  of  the  Staff.     The  Committee  on  Army  Expen- ed> 
diture  of  1851  strongly  enforced  this  recommendation.     At  but      the 
that  time  the  total  number  of  staff  officers  was  419 — the  total  f^rge\j  in- 
charge  for  them  164,9162.     In  1862-63,  the  estimate  for  thecrease<L 
Staff  was — officers,  1,354 ;  pay,  413,5152. :  increase,  935  offi- 
cers; 248,5892.  pay. 

A   "Staff"   is  popularly  supposed  only  to  relate  to  the     Of  what 
Commander-in-Chief,  or  some  great  general  of  division.     But,  consists!aff 
according  to  our  present  practice,  there  is  a  staff  everywhere. 
There  is  not  only  a  staff,  and  a  very  costly  staff',  at  Head 
Quarters,  but  there  is  a  "  General  Staff  for  Great  Britain." 
This  comprises  a  staff  for  the  Northern  District,  a  staff  for    The  staff 
Shorncliffe,  a  staff  for  the  Western  District,  a  staff  for  Al-^nd;En^ 
dershot,  a  staff  for  Guernsey,  a  staff  for  Jersey ;  a  staff  for 
Colchester,   another  for   Woolwich,  another   for   Chatham, 
another  for  Scotland.     In  Ireland  there  is  a  general  staff,  in  Ireland ; 

c?  } 

(costing  5,8682.  a  year,)  a  staff  for  Dublin  and  the  Curragh, 
(4,4202.  a  year,)  a  staff  for  Cork,  and  a  commissariat  staff, 
a  medical  staff,  a  purveyor's  staff,  and  a  military  store  staff. 
There  is  a  staff  at   our  settlements  in  Africa,    costing  no  in  the  Co- 
less   than   13,5002.    a  year;    a   staff   in   Australia,   costing lonies' 
15,0002.  a  year  ;  another  in  New  Zealand,  costing  11,0002.  a 


158  TAXATION:  ITS  EXPENDITUEE.  [SEC.  II. 


^!in'  .Tear  5  another  in  Bermuda,  costing  5,000£.  a  year  ;  in  Canada, 
costing  20,000£.  a  year  ;  at  the  Cape  and  Natal,  costing 
2S,000£.  a  year  ;  in  China  and  Hong-Kong,  costing  12,OOOZ.  a 
year;  at  Gibraltar,  costing  10,700£.  a  year;  in  the  Ionian 
Islands,  at  the  same  expense  ;  in  Jamaica,  costing  13,OOOZ. 
a  year  ;  in  Malta,  at  the  like  charge  ;  in  the  Mauritius,  and 
Newfoundland,  and  Nova  Scotia,  and  St.  Helena,  and,  in 
fact,  everywhere  that  we  have  a  soldier,  there  it  is  considered 
necessary  also  to  have  a  "  staff."  And  the  Staff  costs,  as  we 
have  seen,  nearly  half-a-million  annually  !^  Might  we  not 
dispense  with  a  portion  of  this  staff  ? 

Warlike     .Take  the  next  item  —  Warlike  Stores  :    Small  Arms,  Ord- 

res<       nance,  Projectiles,  and  Gunpowder  —  TWO  MILLIONS!     Are  we 

at  peace  or  at  war  ?     This,  be  it  remarked,  is  an  annual  ex- 

pense; indeed,  the  estimate  for  1862  was  nearly  200,OOOZ. 

below  that  of  the  previous  year.     The  very  charge  for  pack- 

Package  ing,  carriage,  and  freight  of  all  this  material  of  war,  is  no 

Freight      ^ess  than  52,OOOZ.  or  a  thousand  pounds  a  week.     Can  all 

this  expenditure  be  needed  ?     No  doubt  we  must  arm  our  for- 

tifications and  our  soldiers,  but  do  they  really  blow  away 

Gunpow-  225,OOOZ.  worth  of  gunpowder  annually,  without  facing  an 

der-  enemy  ? 

Manufac-     Observe   what   these  warlike  stores   entail.     There  is  a 

tabiifh-08'  charge  in  the  list  of  items,  for  the  establishments  at  which 

ments.  faQy  are  manufactured  and1  for  the  wages  of  the  labourers 
employed  at  them.  The  cost  of  these  establishments  is  an- 
other million  on  the  charge  for  the  material.  At  the  carriage 

Factories,  factory,  the  gun  factory,  and  the  royal  laboratory  at  Wool- 
wich ;  at  the  small-arms  factory  at  Enfield  ;  at  the  establish- 
ments at  Birmingham  ;  at  the  gunpowder  factory  at  Waltham 
Abbey,  and  at  other  minor  manufacturing  establishments,  at 

*  A  remarkable  instance  of  the  increase  of  staff  appointments  after  the  Crimean 
War  was  brought  under  the  notice  of  the  House  of  Commons  in  the  discussion  on 
the  Army  Estimates  in  1861.  Lord  Alfred  Churchill  moved  "  to  reduce  a  vote  by 
the  sum  of  1,038?.,  the  pay  of  the  major-general  commanding  the  Brigade  of 
Foot-guards."  In  the  debate,  Colonel  Knox,  who  had  served  in  the  Guards  for 
twenty-five  years,  said  "he  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  appointment  was 
quite  unnecessary.  At  the  close  of  the  war  two  general-officers,  Lord  Clyde  and 
Lord  Eokeby,  had  to  be  provided  for.  The  office  of  Inspector-General  of  In- 
fantry was  created  for  Lord  Clyde,  and  that  of  Inspector  of  the  Brigade  of 
Guards  for  Lord  Eokeby."  Lord  Palmerston  defended  the  appointment,  on  the 
ground  that  "it  would  tend  to  improve  the  efficiency  of  the  Guards,"  and,  on  a 
division,  the  House  confirmed  it  by  a  majority  of  three. 


SEC.  II.J  THE  ARMY.  159 

the  Tower,  Thames  Bank,  Devonport,  Portsmouth,  &e.,  there  CHAP.  n. 
are  no  less  than  10,070  labourers  employed  in  making  and  Number  of 
repairing  guns  and  manufacturing  powder  and  shot.     With  employe?. 
these  establishments,  our  ordnance  alone  costs  upwards  of  Ordnance°f 
Three  Millions  a  year. 

Take  the  educational  and  scientific  branches — an  annually     Cost  of 

.  J  the  Educa- 

increasing  charge.  A  very  large  porportion  of  this  expen-tionai  es- 
diture  is  for  the  cost  of  educating  young  officers.  Here  are  ments "  of 
some  of  the  chief  items  :—  the  Army' 

The  Council  of  Military  Education £8,154 

Eoyal  Military  Academy  at  Woolwich 39,871 

Eoyal  Engineer  Establishments 10,413 

Eoyal  Military  Academy  at  Sandhurst 44,144 

Musketry  Instruction 28.473 

Surveys  of  the  United  Kingdom 71,000 

Gunnery  Instruction 5,770 

Sundry  Educational  Services 16,668 

Take  the  departments  of  the  Secretary  of  State  and  Com-       Cost  of 
mander-in-Chief:  270,OOOZ.  a  year,  for  mere  clerical  duties  pSen?" 
at  the  Horse-Guards  and  Pall  Mall !     The  War  Office  alone, 
183,000£.  a  year;  and  in  the  Commander-in-Chief 's  Office, 
in  1861-62,  two  assistant-secretaries  to  the  Commander-in- 
Chief,  at  IjOOOZ.  a  year  each,  a  third  at  SOOZ.  a  year,  and  a 
private  secretary  at  365Z. 

In  the  'non-effective  branch  of  the  service — take  the  "  su-  Non-effec- 
peraimuation   and   retired  allowances   to   persons  formerly  ^g   ser". 
belonging  to  public  departments  connected  wtth  the  Army  !" 
In  1850-51,  the  charge  under  this  head  was  40,OOOZ. ;   in 
1862-63,  it  was  143,36iZ.     Probably  it  was  all  well-earned 
and  well  deserved ;  but  such  an  increase  in  superannuation    Superan- 
and  retired  allowances,  not  of  soldiers,  but  merely  of  persons  cTearks"&cf 
formerly  belonging  to  public  departments  connected  with  the 
Army,  is,  at  least,  noticeable. 

Such  expenditure  illustrates  the  general  extravagance  of  General  ex- 
the  system.     But,  in  dealing  with  our  military  expenditure,  ot^tSi^ex- 
it  would  be  worse  than  useless  to  treat  it  in  its  details.     If  Penditure- 
the  present  annual  expenditure  of  15,000,OOOZ.  for  our  Army 
is  to  be  brought  back  to  the  expenditure  of  nine  or  ten  mil- 
lions in  1853,  it  must  be  done  by  dealing  with  the  question 


160  TAXATION:  ITS  EXPENDITURE.  [SEC.  II. 

CHAP.  n.  on  a  principle.     There  is  one  broad  way  in  which  a  reduction 

How  to  of  these  estimates  can  be  enforced.     It  is  by  limiting  the 

u'  amount  of  money  to  be  expended.     This  can  be  done,  and 

has  ere  now  been  done,  by  the  House  of  Commons,  when  it 

has  determined  to  enforce  economy,  without  any  detriment 

whatever  either  to  the  service  or  the  nation. 

Where     If  the  Government  were  required  largely  to  reduce  the 

expend!-    Army  Estimates,  they  would  probably  begin  at  one  of  the 

bereduoei  principal  sources  of  military  expense.     The  most  prominent 

items  of  our  military  expenditure,  at  the  present  time,  are  in 

our  colonies  ;  where,  though  the  number  of  troops  employed 

is  not  large  in  the  wdiole,  the  amount  of  expenditure  from 

the  Imperial  Exchequer  amounts  to  more  than  Three  Millions 

a  year. 

Our  Colo-  Our  colonies  may  be  divided,  for  military  purposes,  into 
two  classes — first,  military  garrisons,  naval  stations,  and  con- 
vict depots ;  and,  secondly,  what  may  be  considered  as  colo- 
nies proper.  The  number  of  troops  maintained  at  each  is 
about  equal ;  the  cost  of  maintenance  somewhat  greater  in 
the  last  than  in  the  first. 

Number      It  may  be  useful  to  inquire  into  the  number  of  troops 
maintained  maintained,  and  the  cost  of  their  maintenance  in  these  colo- 
nies.    Let  us  first  take  military  garrisons,  &c.  :— 

in  Military                                  STATIONS.                                 HO.  OF  TROOPS,      COST  1SG1< 

Garrisons,  1801. 

&c.abroad.  Malta 6)728  t<  £483,173 

Gibraltar 5,925  ..  420,695 

Ionian  Islands 4,294  ..  230,061 

Bermuda 1,128  . .  87,587 

Hong-Kong  (a) 733  ..  57,300 

St.  Helena  (b) 497  ..  38,354 

Bahamas  (J) 398  ..  32,280 

Sierra  Leone  (b) 356 '  . .  27,302 

Gambia  (5) C34  ..  27,910 

Gold  Coast  (5) 306  ..  19,781 

Western  Australia 174  ..  25,946 

Labuan  (a) ..  ..  7,329 

Falkland  Islands  (J) "...  37  ..  2,117 

Total, 20,910     ..     £1,509,835 

(a)  The  troops  at  Hong-Kong  and  Labuan  are  Native  Indian  troops,  the  cost  of 
which  the  Imperial/Treasury  repays  to  the  Indian  Government,  (b)  The  military 
forces  in  these  settlements  are  chiefly  colonial  corps. 


SEC.  II.]  THE  ARMY.  161 


This  account  shows  that,  in  some  instances  (as,  for  exam-  CHAP^II. 
pie,  in  that  of  Western  Australia,  where  each  soldier  costs  Excessive 
the  Imperial  Treasury  close  upon  1501.  a  year)  our  colonial  these 
military  expenditure  is  excessive.     Nor  is  the  cost  alone  to  Tro°Ps- 
be  regarded.     The  increase  in  the  number  of  troops,  espe- 
cially at  the  Mediterranean  stations,  is  very  great.     The  fol-    Large  in- 
lowing  account  shows  the  number  of  Infantry  of  the  line 
(irrespective  of  Artillery  and  Engineers)  employed  in  tbe 
Mediterranean  in  the  years  1851  and  1861  respectively  :— 


Mediter- 
ranean Sta- 
tions. 


STATIONS. 

1851. 

1861. 

Malta  

2,000 

.  .     5,008 

Gibraltar  

2,600 

.  .     4,537 

Ionian  Islands  

2,540 

..     8,601 

Total 7,HO     ..  13,146 


Undoubtedly,  it  is  for  our  military  authorities  to  judge  of 
the  number  of  troops  required  in  our  great  garrisons.  But 
can  such  an  immense  increase  as  this  be  necessary  ?  In  what  isthis  in- 
do  the  circumstances  of  the  world  in  1861  differ  so  widely 
from  those  of  1851,  as  to  have  rendered  it  necessary  almost 
to  double  the  troops  of  the  line  in  each  to  our  Mediterranean 
fortresses  ?  Are  we  not  really  expending  the  strength  and  the 
means  which  we  ought  to  husband  for  emergencies,  in  main- 
taining this  great  force,  equal  to  the  army  of  many  a  small 
State,  for  the  mere  performance  of  garrison  duty,  at  a  cost 
exceeding  1,100,000?.  a  year  ? 

And  here  it  is  impossible  to  pass  over  the  large  number  of  The  Ionian 
forces  (4,300)  and  the  great  expenditure,  (280,000?.)  required Islands- 
for  the  "  protection  "  of  the  Ionian  Islands.     It  was  necessary 
for  the  settlement  of  the  peace  of  Europe,  in  1815,  that  the 
independence  of  those  islands  should  be  established ;  and  as 
the  jealousy  of  the  great  Continental  Powers  of  each  other 
precluded  the  islands  from  being  attached  to  either  Russia, 
France,  or  Austria,*  Great  Britain  undertook  the  "protecto- 


*  The  Ionian  Islands  were,  originally,  under  the  protection  of  Russia.  In  1814, 
during  the  negotiations  for  the  treaty  of  peace  at  Vienna,  the  English  Government 
wished  Austria  to  have  the  Ionian  Islands,  but  other  powers  would  not  concur  in 

11 


162  TAXATION  :    ITS  EXPENDITURE.  [SEC.  II. 

CHAP.  ii.  rate  "  of  the  republic — securing  to  the  loiiians  their  political 
OurProtec-  and  religious  freedom,  and  undertaking  the  duty  of  guarding 
them  against  hostilities  from  other  Powers.     Our  rule  of 
these  islands  has  not,  however,  been  either  advantageous  to 
post  which  ourselves,  or  satisfactory  to  the  Ionian  population.     We  ex- 
pend in  their  military  occupation  upwards  of  a  quarter  of  a 
million  annually ;  and  we  make  the  lonians  expend,  out  of  a 
Our  expen- local  revenue,  raised  in  the  worst  manner,  more  than  140,000^. 
lishments."  a  year  in  maintaining  civil  and  judicial  establishments,  &c., 
for  which  we  supply  the  officers.     Commercially,  we  treat 
wCommer-the  lonians  as  foreigners.     To  maintain  our  establishments, 
which   re- they  are  forced  to  put  export  duties  on  the  currants  they 
their  main-  export,  and  we,  at  the  same  time,  subject  that  fruit  to  an 
tenance.     import  duty  here.     Our  import  duty  restricts  the  consump- 
tion of  their  currants,  whilst  their  export  duty  gives   an 
advantage  to  the  Greeks  and  others  in  the  Mediterranean, 
who  are  also  exporters  of  currants  to  the  British  market.    In 
a  military  point  of  view,  it  is  generally  believed  that  no  force 
Their  For-  we  could  maintain  at  Corfu  could  defend  the  Ionian  Islands 
not  dafen-  m  case  of  war  ;  that,  in  fact,  their  fortresses  are  not  defen- 
sible by  a  garrison  against  an  enemy.     In  a  religious  and 
political  point  of  view,  our  position  in  regard  to  these  islands 
Political  is  detrimental  to  us.     It  excites  the  jealousy  of  other  nations 
quent°non — irritates  the  lonians  themselves,  who  are  Greeks  in  lan- 
^ratProtec~  guage  and  religion — and  causes  England  to  be  traduced,  for 
exercising  a  tyrannical  rule  over  a  people  whom,  in  fact,  she 
is  at  great  cost  to  govern,  without  deriving  from  that  govern- 
Advisa-  ment  the  smallest  advantage  for  herself.     In  view  of  all  these 
relinquish-  facts,  it  can  scarcely  be  doubted  that  it  would  be  a  wise  and 
occupation*  advantageous  measure  to  get  rid  of  these  costly  and  useless 
islands*1688  dependencies,  which,  to  us,  are  only  a  source  of  embarrass- 
ment and  weakness,  and  which  have  expressed  a  strong  desire 


that  arrangement.  Austria  did  not  like  Eussia  so  near  her  frontier ;  so  Great 
Britain  was  obliged  to  take  charge  of  the  islands,  not  by  any  means  to  her  own 
satisfaction.  The  arrangement  was  concluded  by  the  Treaty  of  Paris,  executed  in 
November,  1815. 


SEC.  II. J 


THE  ARMY. 


to  be  freed  from  a  rule  which  amounts,  in  fact,  to  little  more 
than  a  military  occupation.* 

Let  us  next  look  at  the  cost  of  our  military  establishments   Our  Mill- 
in  colonies  which  are  not  maintained  for  military  purposes. 


The  following  is  the  list : — 


in       other 
Colonies. 


Cape  of  Good  Hope  and  Natal 4,866 

Canada 2,432 

Windward  Islands,  &c 2,392 

Nova  Scotia  and  New  Brunswick 1,881 

Mauritius 1,630 

Jamaica 1,433 

Ceylon 2,344 

New  Zealand 1,252 

New  South  Wales 645 

Victoria... 624 

Tasmania 326 

British  Columbia 138t 

Honduras 355 

Newfoundland 239 

South  Australia..,  100 


Total. 


20,657 


IMPERIAL 

MILITARY 

EXPENDITURE. 

£456,658 

206,264 

213,793 

149,495 

145,658 

118,285 

110,268 

104,852 

43,039 

•36,557 

35,113 

37,000 

30,621 

20,807 

6,836 

£1,715,246 


Number 
of  Troops 
and  their 
cost. 


In  addition  to  this  expenditure,  about  370,000£.  are  annu-  Local  con- 
ally  contributed  by  the  colonists  themselves  for  the  mainte- 
nance of  local  forces,  towards  the  pay  and  allowances  of  British 


*  The  abandonment  of  the  British  Protectorate  of  these  islands  is  by  no  means 
now  recommended  for  the  first  time.  Its  advisability  was  strongly  advocated  on 
political  grounds,  when  Greece  was  constituted  a  separate  kingdom  in  1827.  Sir 
Henry  Parnell  enforced  its  desirability  on  economical  grounds  in  1830.  Sir 
John  Young,  a  recent  Lord  High  Commissioner  of  the  Protectorate,  addressed  a 
despatch  to  the  Home  Government,  advising  the  cession,  on  local  considerations, 
in  1856 ;  and  Mr.  Gladstone,  who  was  specially  delegated  to  visit  and  examine  into 
the  affairs  of  all  the  islands,  has  declared  that  "  we  may  look  at  our  connection 
'  with  them  in  the  light  of  an  obligation,  and  we  may  feel  a  difficulty  as  to  dispos- 
'  ing  of  the  fortifications  we  have  constructed  at  Corfu,  if  we  were  to  quit  them ; 
'  but  setting  aside  these  considerations,  I  conceive  that  the  idea  that  they  are  of 
'  any  value  to  us  is  a  superstition."  He  adds,  "  that  in  the  event  of  a  war,  instead 
'of  being  of  any  military  advantage  to  us,  they  would  probably  be  found  an 
'  intolerable  military  burden  ;"  and  his  conclusion  is,  that  "  when  a  good  oppor- 
'tunity  arises  of  divesting  ourselves  of  the  obligation,  it  would  be  very  desirable 
'to  surrender  these  islands."  [N.  B. — I  may  observe  that  these  remarks  were 
written  before  the  publication  of  Earl  Russell's  despatch  on  this  question.] 
t  Sappers  and  Miners. 


TAXATION:  ITS  EXPENDITURE.  [SEC.  II. 

CHAP.  ii.  troops,  for  construction  of  barracks,  and  for  other  military 
Total  EX- works.  The  total  expenditure,  therefore,  is  more  than 

pnndAUrrmy  2,000,0002.  on  these  colonies,  besides  the  1,509,0002.  spent  on 

ionics6  Co~ tne  garrisons  and  naval  stations:  so  that  the  entire  military 
expenditure  for  the  Colonies  exceeds  3,500,000?.  a  year. 

Coioniaire-  Of  this  sum,  it  appears,  by  the  report  of  the  recent  Com- 
mittee on  Colonial  Military  Expenditure,  that  a  sum  of 
73,3152.  was  received  in  the  form  of  contributions  to  the  Im- 
perial Treasury  from  different  dependencies : — 

From  Ceylon £23,954 

"    New  South  Wales 14,712 

"    the  Ionian  Islands 18,449 

"    Mauritius 10,000 

"     Malta 6,200 

Total £73,315 

Other     And  "  this  Committee  think  it  right  to  state  that  some  of 

brought  toa  the  appropriations,  in  aid  of  military  expenditure,  made  by 

mt*     "  colonial  legislatures,  have  not  been  properly  brought  to  ac- 

"  count  at  home.     Large  sums  appear  to  have  been  received 

"  from  the  Colonial  Governments,  by  imperial  officers,  for 

"  strictly  military  purposes,  as  to  which  no  accounts  have 

"  been  rendered  to  the  War  Office  or  the  Treasury." 

The  sys-     It  will  surprise  nobody  to  find  that  that  Committee,  ac- 

ciaredtobe"cordingly,  reported  that  the  existing  system  with  regard  to 

ofcapabj^1_  these  colonies  was  capable  of  improvement.     They  were  of 

prove-       opinion,  looking  at  all  the  facts,  that  the  colonists  could  man- 

incut !" 

age  their  own  military  affairs  better  than  we  could  manage 
them  for  them ;  and,  accordingly,  they  reported  that,  "  subject 
The  Colo- "  to  the  general  exigencies  of  the  Empire,  it  appears  to  your 
should  pay  "  Committee,  that  the  responsibility  and  cost  of  the  'military 
their ;«  defences  of  such  dependencies  ouqht  mainly  to  devolve  upon 


own       de- 
fences.       "  themselves" 


If  the  Imperial  Government  were  to  attempt  to  open  nego- 
tiations with  the  different  colonies,  it  is  probable  that  the 
colonists  would  strongly  protest  against  any  alteration  of  the 
system  which  threw  the  cost  of  their  military  defence  upon 
themselves.  But,  in  1851,  Earl  Grey  proposed  to  the  Aus- 
tralian colonists  certain  terms,  on  which  troops  would  thence- 


SEC.  II.  J  THE  AEMY.  165 

forward  be  provided   for  those   colonies.     Considering  the  CHAP.  n. 
wealth  and  prosperity  of  Australia,  he  stated  that  the  Govern- Earl  Grey's 
ment  at  home  felt  the  colonies  were  able  to  meet  the  expense  to  troops  in 
of  providing  for  their  own  protection  ;  that  we  would  always  AuBtraha- 
afford  them   tlfe  same   protection   as   we   afforded  to   any 
other  portion  of  the  British  Empire ;  that  any  attack  upon 
"New  South  Wales,  or  any  injury  to  any  of  its  inhabitants, 
would  be  resented  in  the  same  manner  as  any  attack  upon 
any  other  part  of  Her  Majesty's  dominions,  or  any  injury 
to  any  other  of  Her  Majesty's   subjects ;   but  that  the  in- 
habitants of  the  colonies  must,  on  their  part,  take  their  fair   • 
share,  with  their  fellow-subjects  at  home,  in  bearing  the  com- 
mon  burden  of  providing  for  the  safety  of  the  Empire  as  a 
whole ;  and  that  the  smallest  contribution  which  they  could 
be  expected  to  make  to  that  object,  was  that  of  defraying  the 
local  expenses  of  the  troops  which  they  themselves  required. 
The  colonists  were  finally  told  that  they  must  either  pay  for 
the  troops,  or  the  troops  would  be  withdrawn. 

The  general  principle,  thus  forcibly  laid  down,  has  been,      General 
in  a  great  measure,  assented  to  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  of  P  lcaEari 
Australian  colonies;    and  what  we  have  now  to  do,  is  tO 
apply  the  principle  in  other  cases.     With  regard  to  British 
North  America,  the  local  spirit  displayed,  in  cases  of  emer-  to   British 
gency,  shows  that  the  Canadians,  Nova  Scotians,  and  New  America, 
Brunswickers  are  quite  equal  to  the  task  of  defending  them- 
selves when  defence  is  required  ;*    and  the  only  question 
which  really  arises  is,  whether  the  fortresses  of  Kingston, 
Quebec,  and  Halifax  ought  to  be  garrisoned  by  imperial  or 
.colonial  forces.     In  British  Kaffraria  and  New  Zealand,  the    Kaffraria 
excursions  undertaken  against  the  natives,  whether  for  terri-  Zealand, 
torial   aggrandizement    or   otherwise,    ought   to   be   at   the 
colonial  risk,  and  at  the  colonial  charge.     These  are  local 
and  not  imperial  wars,  conducted  for  local  and  not  imperial 
objects.     We  never  supplied  the  American  colonists  with 
troops  to  defend  themselves  against  Indian  tribes ;  and  the 


*  On  the  occurrence  of  the  Trent  affair  in  1861 — an  affair  in  which  British  North 
America  had  no  direct  interest  whatever— no  less  than  10,000  volunteers  and 
militia  embodied  themselves  to  defend  their  territory.  The  military  ardour  of 
that  population  nover,  indeed,  requires  exciting. 


166  TAXATION :  ITS  EXPENDITURE.  [SEC.  II. 

CIIAI'.II.  Boers  have,  in  past  times,  managed  their  own  disputes  with 

the  Kaffirs,  without  British  arms  being  employed  on  their 

behalf.*     The  Committee  well  observe  that  in  this  case  it  is 

not  only  desirable  to  diminish  the  imperial  expenditure,  but  to 

The  West  stimulate  the  spirit  of  self-reliance.     As  for  the  "West  Indies, 

Mauritius.  wTe  maintain  4,200  troops  in  these  islands,  merely  to  act  as  a 
local  police.  Together  with  the  Mauritius,  these  islands  are 
wholly  indefensible,  except  by  naval  force,  and  an  expendi- 
ture'upon  them  is  quite  unjustifiable.f 

Jf  the  principle  laid  down  by  Earl  Grey,  and  approved  by 
Lord  Herbert  and  by  the  Committee  on  Colonial  Expendi- 

suit    fromture,  is  once  established,  nearly  2,000,000^.  annually  will  be 

12ri§r|y's  permanently  saved  upon  the  Army  Estimates  of  the  nation. 

principles.  jt  i3ecomes  the  duty  of  the  House  of  Commons,  therefore,  to 
press  upon  the  Government  the  enforcement  of  this  principle. 
A  further  large  reduction  might  be  made  by  getting  rid  of 
dependencies,  such  as  the  Ionian  Islands,  which  are  only  a 
source  of  inconvenience  and  outlay,  and  of  the  "West  African 
settlements,  which,  in  addition  to  their  cost,  are  breeding- 
places  of  pestilence  and  a  source  of  weakness  to  us  from  the 
constant  loss  of  valuable  lives. 
Colonial  It  is  also  most  desirable,  that  economy  should  be  enforced 

tions.         with  regard  to  the  increase  and  extension  of  fortifications 


*  All  the  "  Kaffir  wars  "  originated  in  one  cause— cattle-stealing  and  petty  de- 
predations along  the  frontiers.  These  petty  wars  with  the  natives  have  been 
exceedingly  costly  to  Great  Britain,  and  exceedingly  profitable  to  the  colonists. 
Sir  Harry  Smith  on  one  occasion,  reported  that  "in  the  last  brush  with  a  Kaffir 
chief  named  Sandhilli,  56,000?.  was  expended  for  wagon-hire  alone."  On  another 
occasion,  a  body  of  colonists  settled  on  the  Kat  Eiver  drew  rations  to  the  extent 
of  21,000?.  a  year,  under  the  pretext  of  u  defending  the  frontier."  Sir  Henry  Pot- 
tinger,  when  he  was  Governor  of  the  Cape,  reported  that  "  he  could  give  no  idea 
"  of  the  unauthorized  expense  and  (as  he  believed)  attendant  peculation  which 
"prevailed."  The  wars  having  concluded,  our  troops,  fortunately,  are  only  now 
employed  in  "  protecting  the  frontier."  But  as  the  frontier  is  700  miles  long,  and 
as  Kaffir  wars  are  popular  in  the  colony,  causes  of  complaint  are  not  unlikely  to 
occur.  The  only  way  to  prevent  them  is  to  make  the  colonists  pay  for  their  own 
defence . 

t  The  late  lamented  Lord  Herbert,  in  giving  evidence  before  the  Colonial 
Military  Expenditure  Committee  on  the  30th  May,  1861,  (the  last  committee  he 
ever  attended,)  entirely  condemned  the  idea  of  "  fortifying  the  Mauritius,"  which 
has  been  a  very  favourite  scheme  of  late  with  military  men.  "  I  would  not  say," 
he  said,  "  that  the  garrison  should  be  withdrawn  from  the  Mauritius :  the  Mauritius 
"  is  very  valuable  to  us :  I  do  not  think  we  ought  to  desert  it :  nor  do  I  think  you 
u  ought  to  expend  250,000?.  upon  it.  It  should  be  defended  ly  a  fleets 


SEC.  II.]  THE  AEMY.  167 

abroad.  We  have  seen  already  the  greatly  increased  annual  CHU-.  11. 
cost  entailed  on  the  nation  by  the  increase  of  "  works  "  at 
Gibraltar  and  Malta.  Earl  Grey,  who  speaks  with  the  authority 
of  a  minister  long  charged  with  the  administration  of  colonial 
affairs,  tells  us  that  he  "  entirely  disapproves  of  the  whole 
"policy  of  large  expenditure  upon  colonial  fortifications. 
"  The  experience  we  have  had  of  the  past,  leads  me  to  the 
"conclusion  that  almost  the  whole  of  the  money  we  have 
"  spent  upon  colonial  fortifications  has  been  so  much  abso- 
"  lately  wasted,  and  that  with  respect  to  some  of  these  forti- 
"fications,  erected  at  great  expense,  the  wisest  thing  we 
"  could  do  now  would  be  to  blow  them  up  again."  Admiral 
Erskine,  who  has  commanded  on  the  North  American  station, 
as  well  as  the  Channel  fleet,  concurs  in  this  opinion.  "  Three 
or  four  line-of-battle  ships,"  he  says,  "would  be  a  better 
defence  of  Bermuda  than  all  its  fortifications."  The  Duke 
of  Newcastle  goes  a  long  way  towards  adopting  the  same 
view.  He  "  is  not  in  favour  of  an  extensive  system  of  forti- 
cation  for  the  Mauritius,"  and  he  "  does  not  see  the  advan- 
tage of  fortifications  on  the  Bahamas."  Lord  Herbert  was 
"  against  Colonial  fortifications  altogether."  It  is  the  more 
important  to  dwell  on  this,  because  there  is,  or  has  recently 
been,  before  Parliament,  a  "  ROUGH  ESTIMATE  of  the 'cost  of 
"  completing  works  in  progress,  and  of  new  works  necessary 
"  to  place  the  under-mentioned  foreign  possessions  in  a  reason- 
"  able  state  of  defence,  (in  addition  to  the  sums  already  voted,) 
"  and  of  such  occasional  improvements  'as  art  and  science 
"  may  render  necessary."  The  following  are  the  items  of  this 

"KOUGH  ESTIMATE  FOB  COLONIAL  FORTIFICATIONS."  contem- 
plated Co- 
Gibraltar £25,000                    lonial  For- 

Malta, 75,000  tresses. 

Corfu 75,000 

Mauritius 250,000 

Bermuda 150,000 

Halifax 75,000 

St.  Helena 25,000 

Cape  of  Good  Hope 25,000 

Trincomalee 36,000 

Hong-Kong,  Bahamas,  Falkland  Islands,  Jamaica, 
Antigua,  Canada,  &c 264,000 

(Signed)  J.  F.  BUBQOYNE,  I.  G.  F.  £1,000,000 


168  TAXATION  :  ITS  EXPENDITUKE.  [SEC.  II 


.  If  we  would  not  embark  in  a  most  disastrous  policy  —  if 
we  would  save  millions  annually  to  the  nation  in  future 
years  —  we  should  unite  in  resisting  this  insidious  attempt  to 
fortify  the  whole  world  ! 

A  large        Considering  our  army  expenditure  as  a  whole,  there  can 

establish-  be  little  doubt  that  there  is  ample  room  for  revision  and  re- 

duction.    The  military  estimates  of  this  country  ought  to  be 

based  in  time  of  peace  on  the  principle  simply  of  maintain- 

ing military  efficiency.     There  should  be  no  such  thing  as 

preparation  for  war,  until  the  outbreak  of  war  is  obvious  and 

inevitable.     Preparation  for  war  in  time  of  peace  implies  a  de- 

an  excuse  sire  for  war  in  time  of  peace  ;  and  when  a  nation  fancies  it  is 

r  war.      prepare(j  for  war>  an  excuse  for  it  is  sure  to  be  at  hand.     After 

the  death  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  the  Nestor  of  our  age, 

it  was  thought  necessary  by  younger  officers  and  less  far-see- 

ing politicians,  to  imitate  the  practice  of  continental  military 

The  Cnmps  countries,  and  to  foi*m  a  "camp"  at  Chobham.     The  Chob- 

ham  C1       nam  camp,  intended  as  a  summer  ground  for  exercise,  grew 

and  Alder-  into  a  permanent  camp  at  Aldershot;  —  and  worse  than  that, 

Their  in-  it  brought  upon  us,  there  is  little  doubt,  that  thirst  for  active 

thTcri-  °Q  military  service  which  led  to  the  expedition  to  Yarna,  and 

mean  War.  then  to  the  invasion  of  the  Crimea  and  the  leaguer  of  Sebas- 

topol. 

Nothing  is  more  to  be  deprecated  than  measures  which  ex- 

cite the  passions  of  the  people.     It  has  been  well  observed 

General  that,  whatever  may  have  been  the  feelings  of  the  people  of 

of  wars1  at  England  at  the  close  of  a  war,  it  has  rarely  happened  that 

break.0  lt~  the  commencement  of  a  war  has  been  unpopular  in  England. 

The  war  At  the  commencement  of  the  American  War,  so  popular  was 

rica,          it,  that  Mr.  Burke,  who  had  opposed  it  in  Parliament,  was 

unwilling  to  face  his  constituents  at  Bristol,  wTho  were  in  a 

phrenzy  of  excitement  in  its  favour,  and  who  rejected  him 

from  their  representation  on  account  of  his  opposition  to  it. 

with         In  1793,  Mr.  Fox  opposed  the  war  with  France,  and  moved 

France,  '  _ 

a  resolution  in  Parliament  against  it,  which  only  received 
the  support  of  46  members,  whilst  278  voted  in  favour  of  the 
with  BUS-  war.  The  Crimean  War  was  certainly  not  unpopular  in  this 
country  when  it  was  commenced;  showing  that  even  the 
long  enjoyment  of  the  blessings  of  peace  do  not  necessarily 


sia. 


SEC.  II.  ]  THE  ARMY.  169 

indispose  us  to  the  recurrence  of  war.     But  the  interests  of  CnAP-  IL 
England,  above  that  of  every  other  country,  require,  as  the  British  in- 
first  duty  of  every  Government,  that  it  should  endeavour  to  Voiv&ed   in 
preserve  peace.     ~No  nation  has  so  much  to  lose  by  war.     To  ya?ioneseof 
foster  military  armaments,  therefore,  which  have  a  tendency  peace- 
to  create  a  taste  and  a  desire  for  war,  is  more  than  an  error 
of  policy  —  it  is  absolutely  unpatriotic.     A  minister  who  seeks 
to  maintain  a  large  standing  army  for  the  sake  of  patronage, 
popularity,  and  eclat,  under  some  pretended  pretext  of  great 
interests   to   be  protected,  forgets   that   it   is  to  commerce 
that  England  owes  her  greatness,  and  that  extension  of  com- 
merce is  only  compatible  with  peace. 

It   ouajlit'to  be  considered  whether  the  increase  of  our    Large  ar- 

maments 

military  force  and  military  establishments,  both  at  home  and  set  an  evil 
in  the  Colonies,  does  not  afford  a  pretext,  and  even  a  reason- 


able  excuse  to  foreign  powers,  for  an  increase  of  armaments  States- 
also.  If  such  is  the  case,  we  are  setting  an  example  to  other 
powers  which  may  be  attended  with  most  serious  evils  to  the 
world.  Nothing  is  more  calculated  to  lead  to  war,  than  that 

O  •  / 

any  one  nation  should  be  in  a  perpetual  position  for  aggression 
up'on  another.     The  very  idea  excites  irritation.     And,  at 
the  present  time,  it  cannot  be  denied,  that  we  are  the  parties 
who  give  ground  for  this  irritation,  and  who  appear,  by  the 
extension  of  our  establishments,  to  be  perpetually  threaten- 
ing our  neighbours.     We  not  only  have  a  large  military  force    'our  dis- 
of  our  own  at  home,  but  we  have  a  Channel  fleet  in  addi-  j?}^  a  mjj 
tion.     Such  an  organization  seems  to  be  more  a  menace  to  "ace       to 

,  .  France, 

I  ranee  than  anything  ±  ranee  presents  as  a  menace  to  us. 
Except  France,  there  is  no  other  power  on  earth  that  we 
need  fear.  Austria  is  destitute  of  means  ;  with  Prussia  we 
are  on  terms  of  ijie  closest  connection  ;  the  power  of  Russia 
was  crippled  in  the  Crimea,  and  her  fleet  sunk  in  the  Black 
Sea;  America  has  her  own  war  to  attend  to  at  home,  and  even 
if  she  attacked  us  in  Canada,  Canada  is  quite  able  to  give  a 
very  good  account  of  any  American  filibusterers.  The  in- 
crease of  our  military  force,  therefore,  if  it  is  said  to  be  needed 
as  a  check,  can  only  be  needed  as  a  check  against  France.  anda  cause 
But,  whilst  intended  as  a  display  of  power  against  France,  it  hcnsiou 
is  a  cause  of  apprehension  and  of  armament  to  Europe  ; 


170  TAXATION :  ITS  EXPENDITURE.  [SEC.  II. 

II.  wlien  we  arm?  France  arms,  and  when  France  arms,  all  Eu- 
rope arms. 

The  conclusion  of  the  war  between  France  and  Austria,  in 
r- 1860,  presented  an  opportunity  which  ought  not  to  have  been 
reduction   lost  sight  of,  for  putting  an  end  to  the  fatal  rivalry  of  arma- 
ments,      ments  which  now  prevails.     It  is  due  to  Mr.  D 'Israeli  to 
mention,  that  he  counselled  at  that  time  the  employment  of 
Mr.  D'ls- "  a  general  influence  in  favour  of  reduction."     "What,"  he 
clarations   asked,  "  is  the  use  of  our  diplomatic  agencies — what  avails 
point.  t- L1S  "  Olir  cordial  alliance — if  we  cannot  come  to  some  sensible 
"  arrangement  for  the  reduction  of  the  forces  which  are  har- 
.     "  assing    France,  and  which   are   embarrassing  England  ?" 
"  What  is  there,"  he  again  inquired,  in  1862, — "  what  is  there 
"  in  the  state  of  Europe  at  present  that  justifies,  that  calls  for, 
"  that  even  intimates  a  necessity  for  extravagant  and  extra- 
"  ordinary  armaments  ?"     This  is  an  inquiry  which  we  may 
hope  to  hear  repeated  at  a  very  early  period.     It  will  not  be 
repeated  in  vain,  if  the  people  demand  its  repetition.     But,  as 
with  other  measures,  the  Government  must  be  armed  by 
public  opinion,  before  it  undertakes  a  reduction  of  expendi- 
ture in  a  branch  of  the  public  service  which  peculiarly  affects 
the  aristocracy  of  the  country. 

Large  ar-     There  is  yet  another  point  of  view  in  which  large  military 
time       of  establishments  are  very  undesirable  in  time  of  peace.     As  by 
weaken  the  a  prodigal  expenditure,  during  such  a  period,  you  weaken  the 
andeSiaust  Power  °^  *ne  nation  to  provide  the  increased  taxation  neces- 
the  spirit  of  gary  at  the  outbreak  of  a  war,  so,  in  the  same  way,  you  exhaust 
'  the  spirit  of  the  people,  which  it  is  so  necessary  to  arouse  at 
the  outbreak  of  a  war.     When  the  Crimean  War  broke  out, 
there  was  but  little  difficulty  in  recruiting  the  number  of  ad- 
ditional men  then  necessary  for  our  army ;  but,  within  a  year  or 
two,  it  was  not  easy  even  to  provide  sufficient  recruits  to  make 
up  the  deficiencies  in  our  ranks  of  killed  and  wounded.*     If 


*It  will  be  remembered  that  we  were  even  obliged  to  have  recourse  to  a  German 
legion,  which,  after  having  been  trained  at  Shorncliff,  at  very  large  cost,  we  were 
obliged  to  dispose  of  at  a  still  greater  expenditure,  by  sending  them,  on  the  ter- 
mination of  the  War,  as  "  military  emigrants"  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  where, 
for  some  time,  they  were  kept  on  full  pay,  to  oppose  the  Kaffir  chief,  "  Moshesh," 
who  appears,  however,  never  to  have  given  them  an  opportunity  of  smelling  gun- 
powder. 


SEC.  II.]  THE  AEMY.  171. 

you  maintain  a  standing  army  at  its  maximum  in  time  of  CHAP.  n. 
peace,  the  outbreak  of  war  will  find  you  not  only  without 
means  of  adding  to  your  army,  but  even  of  obtaining  the 
number  of  men  necessary  to  supply  deficiencies.     No  incon-     Reliance 
siderable  confidence  may  be  placed  in  the  spirit  of  the  people  should  be 
of  Great  Britain.     "When  a  real  exigency  arises,  they  have  ^spirit  of 
always  hitherto  found  men  and  money  for  all  the  purposes the  natlon- 
required.     But  will  this  be  the  result  if  you  are  continually 
playing  at  soldiers,  continually  calling  for  supplies,  continu- 
ally building  batteries  and  fortifications  ?   Are  not  these  things 
calculated  to  allay  the  spirit  of  the  nation,  so  that,  when  a 
necessity  arises,  they  may  say  that  they  have  already  sacri- 
ficed enough  to  efficiency  2*     As  a  means  of  preparation  for 
war,  nothing  can  be  more  perilous  than  a  prodigal  expendi- 
ture, and  an  excessive  drain  upon  the  nation,  in  a  time  of 
peace. 

In  the  face  of  commercial  treaties,  war  budgets  are  certainly          War 
anomalies.     Let  us  hope  that  we  have  seen  the  last  of  war  commer-1' 
budgets  in  a  time  of  peace,  and  that  all  that  is  unnecessary  in  ^   Trea" 
the  expenditure  for  the  Army  will  be  speedily  retrenched. 
Looking  at  what  that  expenditure  has  been  since  1857,  the    Our  pre- 
Army  ought  now  to  be  in  a  state  of  great  efficiency.     The ratLnssuf- 
votes  for  military  stores  have  been  immense. f     l^he  Ordnance  °  5nt' 
has  been  supplied  with  the  largest  guns  and  the  most  fashion- 
able new  projectiles ;  siege  trains  have  been  provided,  when 


*  The  falling  off  in  the  volunteer  corps  may  he  regarded  as  enforcing  this  position. 
We  excited  the  ardent  spirit  of  the  country,  a  few  years  since,  with  very  little  occa- 
sion for  it,  and  we  see,  as  a  consequence,  a  rapid  diminution  in  the  numbers  who 
then  enrolled  themselves  as  volunteers.  The  reason  of  this  is  obvious.  When  the 
tocsin  was  sounded,  the  people  answered  to  the  call ;  but  when  they  found  there 
was  no  cause  for  alarm,  they  began  to  feel  it  vexatious  and  troublesome  to  be  dis- 
tracted from  their  ordinary  avocations  in  order  to  play  at  soldiers,  and  they  there- 
fore withdrew.  No  doubt,  if  needful  occasion  arose,  they  would  come  forward 
again  ;  but  until  that  occasion  occxirs,  let  us  beware  of  crying  "  Wolf." 

fEven  in  the  mode  of  presenting  the  Army  Estimates  for  stores,  &c.,  there  is 
reason  to  think  that  material  economies  might  be  effected.  The  able  officer  who 
has  succeeded  to  the  duties  of  Sir  Benjamin  Hawes  in  the  Under  Secretaryship  of 
State  for  the  War  Department,  might  apply  himself  with  great  advantage  to  the 
consideration  of  the  departmental  accounts.  With  the  assistance  of  his  staff,  and 
the  aid  of  competent  accountants,  I  am  satisfied,  from  practical  knowledge,  that  he 
would  soon  find  it  in  his  power  to  effect  very  sensible  savings  of  expenditure. 


172  TAXATION :  ITS  EXPENDITURE.  [Sac.  II. 

CHAP.  II.  there  was  nothing  to  be  besieged  ;  the  soldiers  have  been  sup- 
plied with  rifles  of  the  most  novel,  and,  therefore,  it  is  to  be 
presumed,  of  the  most  efficient  construction  ;  camp  equipages 
have  been  provided  for  men  in  barracks ;  and  ambulances 
plentifully  supplied  where  there  were  no  wounded  to  be  car- 
ried. Nothing  has  been  left  undone,  as  the  Inspector-General 
of  Fortifications  puts  it,  "  to  meet  such  occasional  improve- 
without  ad- men ts  as  art  and  science  render  necessary."  There  has  been 
^" no  parsimony,  such  as  that  of  which  the  people  were  accused, 
in  1854,  when,  after  an  expenditure  of  several  hundreds  of 
millions  on  the  Army,  they  were  told,  by  the  authorities,  that 
the  disasters  of  the  winter  in  the  Crimea  were  not  due  to  the 
bad  administration  of  the  Army,  but  to  the  deficiency  of  the 
estimates  from  1816  to  1853 !  There  has  certainly  been 
nothing  of  that  sort  to  complain  of  since,  if  there  ever  was 
before.  Let  the  Army,  then,  be  content  with  what  has  been 
already  done  to  put  it  in  a  condition  of  increased  efficiency, 
and  let  us  hear  of  no  new  demands,  such  as  those  for  Colonial 
fortifications,  involving  increased  expenditure  for  men,  for 
stores,  for  ordnance,  for  transport,  and  for  all  that  necessarily 
results  from  increase  of  the  number  of  our  establishments,  and 
the  number  of  our  soldiers  required  to  defend  them. 


OHAPTEB    111. 


THE      NAVY. 

PRIOR  to  the  war  of  1793,  the  Kavy  of  England  cost  about  CHAP.  ill. 
2,000,0002.  a  year.     On  the  outbreak  of  war,  we  had  to  pro-  The~Navies 
vide  very  largely  for  the  protection  of  the  commerce  of  the  ^f  ^1793' 
country.     France,  in  1793,  had  80  efficient  ships  of  the  line, 
and  a  large  number  capable  of  being  made  efficient.     Hol- 
land had  so  large  and  so  efficient  a  fleet,  that  she  was  able  to 
cope  with  us,  and  to  fight  the  battle  of  Camperdown.     Spain 
had  76  ships  of  the  line  ;  and,  although  the  navies  of  Russia 
and  the  United  States  were,  at  that  period,  of  no  importance, 
England  could  scarcely  be  considered  the  mistress  of  the 
seas. 

Our  navy  estimates  consequently  rose,  and,  in  1804,  the 
year  preceding  the  battle  of  Trafalgar,  they  amounted  to 
11,921,0002.,  say  12,000,0002.     The  battle  of  Trafalgar  aimi-    Effects  of 
hilated  the  fleets  of  France  and  Spain.     From  that  time  of6  Trafki- 
forward  England  swept  from  the  face  of  the  ocean  the  ships  gar* 
of  every  enemy.     At  the  end  of  the  war,  it  was  calculated 
by  one  of  our  principal  naval  officers,  that  we  had  captured 
or  destroyed  156  sail  of  the  line,  382  large  frigates,  662  cor- 
vettes, with  smaller  vessels,  making  a  total  of  2,506  vessels 
of  war,  belonging  to  other  powers,  taken  and  destroyed  by 
the  British  navy. 

The  conclusion  of  the  war  found  us  with  a  very  high  naval  Naval  ex 
expenditure.     It  was,  however,  immediately  put  on  a  more per 
moderate  footing,  and  the  reduction  continued,  for  a  number 
of  years,  as  the  following  statistics  show  : — 


174  TAXATION  :   ITS  EXPENDITUKE.  [Sao.  II. 

CHAP.  III.  TEAK.  NAVAL  EXPENDITUKE. 

1815to~lS35  1815  .......................................  £16,073,870 

1816  .......................................  9,516,325 

1817  .......................................  6,473,063 

1&20  .......................................  6,387,799 

1825  .......................................  5,849,119 

1830  .......................................  5,309,606 

1835  .......................................  4,009,430 


exneud?ed     ^n  ^e  year  l83^,  a  demand  was  made  upon  the  country 
turetopro-for  an  addition  to  the  Navy  estimates,  on  the  ground  that  it 

vide  steam  .  ^  i          mi       T  i 

vessels.      was  necessary  to  provide  steam-vessels.     Hie  demand  was  so 

•     willingly  complied  with,  that  it  was  made  an  excuse  for  an 

Expendi-  annual  addition  to  the  votes.     In  the  next  twelve  years  the 

ture.  .  _  ,, 

estimates  rose  as  follows  :  — 


1838  tO  1853  YEAR.  EXPENDITURE. 

1838 £4,520,428 

1839 5,490,204 

1842 6,640,163 

1845 6,809,872 

1849 6,942,397 

1853 6,640,596 

The  expenditure  may,  therefore,  be  said  to  have  been 
increased  one-third — namely,  from  four  millions  and  a  half 
to  about  six  millions  and  three  quarters — between  1838  and 
1853.  Although,  by  a  better  system  of  administration,  much 
of  the  money  might,  no  doubt,  have  been  saved,  yet,  having 
regard  to  all  the  circumstances  of  the  period,  the  increase  is, 
upon  the  whole,  not  much  to  be  quarrelled  with.  Had  our 
expenditure  remained  at  between  six  and  seven  millions  a 
year,  we  might  have  thought  the  Navy  estimates  within  the 
immode-  means  and  resources  of  the  country.  But  that  estimate  has 
crease  inmost  immoderately  increased.  On  the  outbreak  of  the 
1854-5.  Crimean  "War,  the  Navy  estimate  was  immediately  doubled, 
and  in  the  very  next  year,  1855,  it  was  raised  to  a  point 
exceeding  that  of  the  year  in  which  we  fought  the  battle  of 
Trafalgar,  and  nearly  equal  to  the  highest  amount  at  which 
it  has  stood  at  any  period  of  British  history  :— 

1854 £12,182,769 

1855 19,014,708 

1856 16,013,995 


Sac.  H.]  THE  NAVY.  175 

In  1857  and  1858,  although  the  Russian  war  had  terminat-  CHAP.  III. 
ed,  excuses  were  made  for  very  high  Navy  estimates,  on  the  The'China' 
ground  of  the  cost  of  the  China  and  other  expeditions.     The  war< 
amounts  expended  were : —  • 

1857 £10,390,000 

1858 10,029,047 

Here  we  might  reasonably  have  expected  that  the  expendi- 
ture would  have  ended  ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  in  1859,  it  was   Increased 
increased,  and  it  has  continued  ever  since  to  be  put  on  anture6n 
estimate  equal  to  twice  the  expenditure  of  1853. 

1859 £11,072,243  1859-62. 

1860 12,991,668 

1861 12,608,042 

1862  (estimate) 11,749,305 

The  Navy  estimates  require  to  be  dealt  with  on  a  different    Principle 
principle  from  those  of  the  Army.     In  the  Army  we  have  should  re- 
seen  that  the  number  of  soldiers  employed  governs  the  cost  fi^vy6 
of  the  whole  service.     But  the  cost  of  the  Navy  is  not  so estimates- 
materially  affected  by  the  number  of  men  engaged.     The 
great  outlay  of  the  Navy  is  not  on   seamen.     The  great  Our  Naval 

TA          •  xi       -\r        i        ^iTt  Al  «establish- 

expeiiditure  is  upon  the  Naval  establishments,  the  wages  of  ments. 
artificers  employed  in  them — dockyard  improvements  and 
repairs,  and  Naval  stores,  &c.  for  the  building  of  the  fleet. 
Out  of  the  12,600,0002.  expended  on  the  Navy  in  1861,  the 
yards  and  the  works  carried  on  therein  were  estimated  to 
cost  6,256,4:792.,  or  almost  the  moiety. 

It  will  not  admit  of  doubt  that  the  past  expenditure  upon    Their  ex- 
otir  Navy,  especially  in  our  dockyards,  has  been  one  of  the oondemn- 
grossest  extravagance.     So  far  back  as  1848,  Mr.  (afterwards  ^raftyA 
Sir  Henry) 'Ward,  who  was  at  that  time  Secretary  to  the authorities- 
Admiralty,  stated  to  a  Committee  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons,* his  firm  belief  "that  there  was  no  department  in 
"  which  the  want  of  a  regular  system  had  been  felt  so  much 


*  It  is  a  coincidence  that  Lord  Seymour  (now  Duke  of  Somerset,  and  First  Lord 
of  the  Admiralty)  was  chairman  of  the  committee  which  received  this  evidence. 


176  TAXATION:  ITS  EXPENDITURE.  [SEO.  II. 

CHAP.  III.  "  as  in  the  Admiralty ;  one  in  which  so  many  extensive 
"  alterations,  particularly  in  naval  construction,  had  been 
"  created  by  the  sudden  changes  of  persons  having  the 
"  authority,  and  by  the  want  of  a  systematic  application  of 
"  certain  principles." 

The  whole  system  of  the  dockyards,  in  the  construction  of 
ships,  has,  for  a  long  period  of  years,  been  one  of  experiment. 

Parliamen-  It  is  in  evidence,  in  a  variety  of  Parliamentary  reports,  that 

taryreports  ^.^  ^^  }}QQn  ^^  Qn  ^  gtoe]cs?  partially  built,  pulled  to 

dockyard    pjeces  their  timber  rehewn  into  other  shapes  or  sold  for 

system.        *  -1 

waste ;  that  hulls  completed  have  been  condemned  as  not 
worth  the  cost  of  rigging ;  that  others  rigged  have  been  pro- 
nounced as  not  worth  commissioning  ;  that  now  vessels  com- 
missioned have  been  brought  home,  condemned,  and  broken 
up  ;  that  others  have  cost  more  in  repairs  and  alterations 
than  they  cost  in  building  even  before  they  went  to  sea  ;  that 
a  number  of  vessels,  after  having  been  built,  have  been  laid 
up  in  harbours  and  allowed  to  dry  rot ;  that  others  have 
been  cut  down,  built  up  agsiin,  and  changed  in  form  and 
character,  more  than  once,  before  they  were  even  sent  to 
sea; — that,  in  fact,  there  had  been  such  reckless  waste  and 
gross  mismanagement  as  would  have  made  any  mercantile 
company  bankrupt  ten  times  over. 

Treasure  Although  at  the  end  of  the  French  War  we  had  nearly  a 
onpendetdhe  thousand  ships,  with  dockyards  in  the.  highest  state  of 
Fleet.  efficiency,  yet  in  the  years  of  peace,  between  1816  and  1854, 
we  were  called  on  to  expend  a  sum*  largely  exceeding  a 
Hundred  Millions  of  money  on  the  Fleet  and  its  maintenance. 
This  may  be  regarded  as  another  forcible  illustration  of  the 
impolicy  of  maintaining  large  establishments  in  time  of 
peace  ;  for  we  now  find  ourselves  only  at  the  commencement 
of  a  new  work  of  construction,  rendered  necessary  by  the 
substitution  of  iron  for  wood  in  ship-building.  Of  the 
thousand  vessels,  which  we  have  now  in  our  Navy,  only  a 
comparative  few  will  be  fitted  for  the  purposes  of  future  naval 
warfare.  Competent  judges  have  pronounced  that,  owing  to 
the  recent  improvements  in  explosive  shells  and  other  com- 
bustible missiles,  and  in  the  methods  of  projecting  them, 
"  wooden  ships  in  future  battles  would  be  nothing  better 


SEC.  II.]  THE  NAVY.  177 

"  than  human  slaughter-houses ;"  that  "  they  would  be  blown  CHAP.  in. 
to  lucifer  matches ;"  and  that  "  any  Government  which  should  Our 

"  send  such  vessels  into  action  against  an  iron-plated  ship  Targets!'11 
"would  deserve  to  be  impeached."  To  crowd  a  thousand 
men  into  a  wooden  target,  with  thirty  or  forty  tons  of  gun- 
powder at  their  feet,  and  expose  them  to  a  bombardment 
with  detonating  shells,  would  only  be  to  expose  them  to 
inevitable  destruction.  We  have,  therefore,  to  apply  our- 
selves to  a  reconstruction  of  our  Navy  upon  new  principles 
adapted  to  the  present  exigencies  of  naval  warfare. 

This  necessity  brings  us  to  a  very  important  epoch  in  the       Recon- 
history  of  the  Navy.     And,  at  the  present  time,  we  ought  to  our  Navy. 
be  more  than  ever  careful  to  guard  against  the  errors  of  the 
past,  as  well  as  to  adopt  the  most  efficient  system  that  can  be 
devised  for  the  future. 

We  have  to  reconstruct  our  Navy.     In  the  first  place,  let  Our  Dock- 
us   look   at   the   state   of  our   dockyards.      Her    Majesty's yar 
establishments  at  home   and  abroad  consist  of  the  follow- 
ing:— 

NAVAL  YARDS  AT  HOME.  at  home 

Deptford.  Sheerness.  Keyham. 

Woolwich.  Portsmouth.  Pembroke. 

Chatham.  Devonport.  Deal. 

VICTUALLING  ESTABLISHMENTS  AT  HOME. 

Eoyal  Victoria,  Deptford.         Eoyal  William,  Plymouth. 
Eoyal  Clarence,  Gosport.         Haulbowline. 

NAVAL  YARDS  ABROAD.  and  abroad. 

Gibraltar.  Bermuda.  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

Malta.  Antigua.  Trincomalee. 

Halifax.  Jamaica.  Hong  Kong. 

VICTUALLING  ESTABLISHMENTS  ABROAD. 

Malta.  Ascension.  Sydney. 

Halifax.  Sierra  Leone.  St.  Helena. 

Jamaica.  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

The  cost  of  these  establishments,  together  with  the  neces- 

12 


178  TAXATION  :  ITS  EXPENDITUKE.  [SEC.    II. 

CHAP.  in.  sary  medical  hospitals,  infirmaries,  prisons,  police,  &c.,  at- 
-  tached  to  them,  will  be  seen  from  the  following  abstract  :— 


nual  cost. 

HER  MAJESTY'S  ESTABLISHMENTS,  1862. 


COST   OF  ABOURER8'         NEW  WORKS 

ESTABLISHMENT.  ESTABLISH-  -i  AND   IMPROVE-        TOTAL. 


MENT.  .  MENTS.     . 

Naval  Yards,  &o.,  at  home...  £176,624  ..  £1,147,678  ..  £393,102  ..  £1,717,404 
Ditto,  abroad  ................        33,610..  66,801..        71,068..         171,479 

Total,  ...............  £210,234  ..  £1,214,479  ..  £464,170  ..  £1,888,883 

The  dockyards,  therefore,  cost  the  country,  for  officers, 
labourers,  and  improvements,  a  sum  approximating  to  Two 
MILLIONS  annually.  This  is  exclusive,  be  it  remembered,  of 
the  cost  of  stores,  which  exceed  THKEE  MILLIONS  more.  The 
Two  Millions  merely  represent  the  cost  of  the  establishments, 
and  of  the  labour  provided  in  them. 

These  es-     Now,  what  is  all  this  for  ?     It  is  for  timber  ship-building  ; 
merits  "not  ^or  *ne  perpetuation  of  a  system  which  it  is  admitted  on  all 


^  hands  that  we  must  gradually  abandon.  Except  one  iron 
building,  vessel,  which  has  been  ordered  to  be  constructed  at  Chatham 
as  an  experiment,  no  iron  steam-ship  has  been  built,  or  is 
likely  to  be  built,  in  our  Naval  dockyards.  The  dockyards 
are,  in  fact,  not  adapted  for  iron-ship  building.  They  do 
not  contain  the  necessary  machinery,  nor  do  they  com- 
mand the  sort  of  labour  that  is  required  for  the  purpose.* 
Besides  this,  the  largest  of  these  establishments  —  those  at 
Portsmouth  and  Devonport  —  are  situated  at  the  points  most 
distant  from  the  materials  —  iron  and  coal  —  which  are  re- 
quired for  iron  ship-building;  so  that  if  iron-ships  could 
be  constructed  at  those  places,  their  cost  must  be  much 
larger  than  the  cost  of  iron-vessels  built  where  coal  and  iron 
can  be  more  readily  obtained  without  excessive  cost  of  trans- 
port. 


*  Even  in  the  construction  of  iron-plated  wooden  vessels,  the  yards  labour  un- 
der great  disadvantages.  It  appears,  from  a  recent  account  of  Deptford  Dockyard, 
published  in  one  of  our  London  daily  papers,  that  the  iron  plates  used  in  the  con- 
struction of  two  vessels  now  building  in  that  yard,  have  to  be  sent  by  lighters 
down  to  Woolwich  to  be  punched. 


SEC.  II.]  THE  NAVY.  179 

The  iron  vessels  now  in  our  Navy  have,  consequently,  all  CHAF.  in  . 
been  built  by  contract  in  the  yards  of  iron  ship-builders  on    Our  iron 
the  Tyne,  the  Mersey,  the  Thames,  and  the  Clyde.     A  Com-  ships*  con- 
mission  which  was  appointed  a  few  years  since  to  inquire  ^^^  l 
into  our  dockyards,  entirely  approved  of  this  system  of  con- 


tracting  for  the  iron  hulls  of  vessels  and  for  their  engines,  at  yard  Com- 

fixed  prices.     The  Earl  of  Gifford,  who  was  Chairman  of  the 

Commission,*  condemned  in  his  place  in  the  House  of  Com-  their    ap- 

mons,  even  the  attempt  of  the  Government  to  experimen-  contract  ° 

talize  upon  iron  ship-building.     "At  Chatham,"  he  said,  "itjJ*"*1"1^ 

"  would  not  only  be  necessary,  with  a  view  to  the  construe- 

"  tion  of  iron  ships,  to  erect  extensive  buildings,  to  purchase  speech 

"  expensive  machinery,  largely  to  increase  the  number  of  ar- 

"  tizans  in  iron  in  the  yard  ;  but,  in  the  absence  of  a  slip 

"  sufficiently  long,  it  would  even  be  necessary  to  occupy  one 

"  of  the  largest  docks  in  the  country,  which  ought  to  be  re- 

"  served  for  more  legitimate  purposes."     .....    "  With 

"  the  scores  of  great  ship-building  firms  all  around  our  coast, 

"  who  would  be  able  and  willing  to  undertake  the  contracts, 

o 

"  he  thought  it  would  be  prudent  of  the  Government  not  to 
"  undertake  the  novel  and  expensive  system  of  iron  sliip- 
"  building."t 

Every  practical  man  will  entirely  concur   in   this  view.      Advan- 
Having  regard  to  the  interests  of  the  nation,  it  is,  above  all 


corn- 


things,  desirable  that  the  Government  should  not  commence 

iron  ship-building  in  dockyards  not  adapted  for  the  purpose,  building, 


*  As  this  is  written,  the  news  reaches  me  of  the  melancholy  death  of  this 
estimable  young  nobleman,  the  termination  of  whose  career  at  the  prime  of  his 
life,  and  at  a  moment  when  he  gave  so  much  promise  of  being  useful  to  his  coun- 
try, must  be  a  subject  of  sincere  regret. 

t  The  pretext  assigned  by  the  Comptroller  of  the  Navy  for  commencing  iron 
ship-building  at  Chatham  was,  that  it  was  neccessary  that  the  dockyards  should 
have  within  themselves  the  means  of  effecting  the  repairs  of  iron  ships,  and  that 
it  was  desirable  that  Government  should  have  the  means  of  testing  the  price  of 
iron  ships  built  by  contract.  Lord  Gifford  very  truly  observed  that  the  appli- 
ances' necessary  for  repairs  existed  at  Keyham,  Portsmouth,  Sheerness,  and  Wool- 
wich, and  that  the  authorities  ought  to  know  the  proper  cost  of  a  ship  without 
building  one,  under  the  most  disadvantageous  circumstances,  to  test  it.  The  real 
intention,  however,  in  constructing  the  Achilles  at  Chatham,  was  to  convert  that 
yard  into  a  dockyard  for  iron  ship-building. 


180  TAXATION:  ITS  EXPENDITURE.  [Sic.  II. 


The  best,  and  by  far  the  cheapest  mode  of  obtaining  iron 

in  price,  hulls,  is  to  contract  for  their  construction  with  builders  of  un- 
questioned reputation,  at  fixed  and  certain  prices.  Com- 
petition would  not  only  secure  the  lowest  price,  but,  by 

in  improve-  admitting  new  designs  and  forms,  would  ensure  improve- 
ments in  construction  which  are  not  to  be  expected  otherwise. 

in  material,  Perfection  of  material  and  workmanship  could  be  easily 
secured.  As  Lord  Gilford  observed,  "  if  any  fears  were  en- 

in  work-  "  tertained  on  that  head,  there  would  be  found  to  be  ample 
"  security  in  appointing  a  sufficient  number  of  salaried  in- 
"  spectors  to  superintend  the  works  in  progress."  If  this 
system  were  adopted,  the  present  costly  establishments  in 

in  the  cost  our  dockyards  might  be  greatly  and  permanently  reduced. 

lishments,  Those  yards  would  be  used  for  the  fitting  and  repairing  of 
ships,  but  great  reductions  might  be  made  in  the  expenditure 

and  of  for-  °^  ^ie  establishments,  and  all  .the  millions  proposed  to  be 

titications   sunk   in   fortifications   for  their  protection   mielit   also   be 

to    protect  , 

them.      .  saved. 

At  the  present  time,  most  of  the  l,02l  vessels  which  we 
Ourwood-have  in  our  Navy  are  built  of  wood.     A  certain  number  of 
'  the  best  of  these  might,  perhaps,  be  properly  retained  for 
special  purposes  ;  but  the  bulk  of  them  ought  to  be  sold  out 
of  the  service.     In  time  of  war,  no  one  would  ever  think  of 
sending  these  wooden  ships  to  sea  again.     They  would  be 
quite  unable  to  cope  with  any  iron  vessel  they  might  meet, 
and  with  the  powerful  artillery  which  has  recently  been  in- 
their  pro-  vented.     Proposals  have  been  made  for  the  conversion  of 
version°by  these  vessels,  and  some  of  them  have  been  armed  with  iron 
ing1    plat"  P^tes.     I  have  on  previous  occasions  expressed  my  opinion 
that  this  arrangement  will  be  found  to  be  an  error.     Wooden 
Objec-  vessels  plated  with  iron  are  so  shaken  by  the  action  of  a  heavy 
this8     ar-sea,  and  ^7  tnat  °f  tneir  own  machinery,  as  speedily  to  be- 
rangement.  come  unseaworthy.     A  wooden  frame  only,  in  fact,  weakens 
an  iron  plate.     In  course  of  time,  the  wooden  frame  shrinks 
or  rots,  or  the  bolts  which  fasten  the  iron  plates  to  it  loosen 
Eeasonsfor  and  fall  out.     Then  the  vessel  requires  reconstruction,  and 
entails  all  those  expenses  for  repairs  which  have  proved  so 
costly  in  our  wooden  fleet.     It  is  far  better,  and  not  more 
expensive,  to  build  the  vessel  entirely  of  iron.     The  plates  in 


SEC.  II.]  THE  NAVY.  181 

that  case  being  ri  vetted  to  each  other,  and  to  the  framework,  CHAP,  in. 
present  a  solidity  which  is  not  afforded  by  any  wooden  vessel 
plated  over. 

If  we  retain  these  wooden  ships,  they  will  lie  in  our  harbours    The   in- 
and  docks  until  they  meet  the  usual  fate  of  our  men-of-war,  dl^ay,16 
and  perish  of  the  dry  rot.     They  may  even  entail  upon  us  no  and  cost  of 
inconsiderable  outlay,  not  only  for  their  safe  custody,  but  for^°g°jjj£ 
fittings  and  repairs.     On  every  ground,  therefore,  it  seems 
better  to  get  rid  of  them.     We  may  rest  satisfied  that  they  renders  it 
will  not  be  purchased  for  the  naval  services  of  other  countries,  seiuSem  l° 
for  the  inefficiency  of  wooden  ships  is  now  universally  ac- 
knowledged.    They  will,  probably,  be  bought  out  of  the  Navy 
into   our  own   merchant-service.     Their   engines   might  be 
taken  out  and  used  in  another  class  of  vessels.     With  regard 
to  troop-ships  and  transports,  England  has  her  vast  commer- 
cial marine  to  fall  back  upon,  whenever  occasion  may  require  ; 
and  it  seems  quite  unnecessary  that  we  should  keep  a  num- 
ber of  vessels  in  our  docks  merely  for  the  performance  of 
such  services. 

In  reconstructing  our  Navy,  that  which  it  seems  desirable  Vessels  of 
principally  to  aim  at,  is  the  construction  of  a  few  very  large  needed.nOV 
and  powerful  iron  vessels,  of  sufficient  size  to  mount  the 
largest  guns  in  central  batteries,  and  fitted  to  act  as  rams,  by 
the   aid  of  powerful  steam  machinery.     They  should  have 
sufficient  stowage  of  coal  for  long  voyages,  so  as  to  be  capable 
of  being  sent  across  the  Atlantic  under  steam-power,  and  of 
being  used  for  the  defence  of  our  Colonial  possessions.     Such 
vessels  would  be  moveable  fortresses.     Having,  close  to  our     pecuiiar 
seaboard,  the  raw  material,  in  the  iron  necessary  for  building  ^va^gg|gg 


them,  we  possess  advantages  over  every  other  nation  for  their  for     their 

_.         _  ,        1  construc- 

construction.  For  fitting  them  .we  have  the  best  steam-  tion, 
engines,  and  for  working  them  unlimited  supplies  of  coal.  If 
we  will  apply  ourselves  to  the  construction  of  such  vessels  for 
the  purposes  of  our  Navy,  we  shall  soon  be  possessed  of  a 
Marine  with  which  all  the  nations  of  the  world  together  could 
never  hope  to  vie. 

Iron  ships  require  very  little  reparation.     Refitting  and  reparation, 
repairs  have  been  the  great  drain  upon  our  wooden  vessels. 
This  class  of  men-of-war,  moreover,  would  require  a  far  less 


182  TAXATION:  ITS  EXPENDITURE.  [820.  II. 

CHAP^III.  number  of  men  to  work  them  than  any  other  sort  of  vessel 

and      hitherto  designed.     Not  only,  therefore,  would  this  plan  save 

a  very  large  proportion  of  the  cost  of  our  dockyards,  but  it 

manning,  would  save  a  great  part  of  the  expense  of  manning  our  fleet, 

and  many  of  the  difficulties  by  which  it  is  now  attended.* 
timesupre-     ^ke  c^iange  wnicn  nas  characterized  naval  armaments  is 
macy  pro- extremely  favourable  to  the  maritime  superiority  of  Great 
iron  ships.  Britain.     For  the  construction  and  working  of  wooden  sail- 
ing ships,  the  raw  material  requisite  had  all  to  be  imported. 
Timber  and  hemp,  for  cordage  and  sails,  had  chiefly  to  be 
obtained  from  the  nations  of  the  Baltic,  or  from  the  other  side 
of  the  Atlantic  Ocean.     But  for  the  construction  and  work- 
ing of  iron  steam  ships  we  have  all  the  raw  materials  at  home  ; 
and  we  possess  them  in  greater  abundance  and  in  superior 
quality  to  any  other  nation.     The  result  is  already  shown  in 
our  mercantile  marine,  in  which  steamers  are  rapidly  dis- 
placing wooden  vessels.     Between  1850  and  1860,  the  number 
of  steamers  belonging  to  the  United  Kingdom  increased  from 
1,100  to  2,200,  and  their  tonnage  from  158,000  to  no  less  than 
454,000  tons.     This  progress  has  been  more  than  equal  to  the 
aggregate  progress  of  all  the  other  nations  of  the  world  within 
the  same  period :  and,  indeed,  a  very  large  proportion  of  all 
the  steam  ships  which  navigate  the  waters  of  the  globe  under 
the  flags  of  other  nations,  owe  their  construction  to  British 
builders;  whilst  a  still  large  number  are  indebted  to  us  for  their 
machinery,  boilers,  and  even  for  their  engineers. 
Our  Naval     The  preservation  of  the  supremacy  of  our  Empire  at  sea 
consfstenT  ma7  t)e  considered  essential  to  our  national  existence.     The 
micaic°ex- f°regoing  argument  tends  to  show  that  the  system  best  calcu- 
penditure.  lated  to  preserve  it   is  consistent  with  the  adoption  of  an 
economical  expenditure  upon  the  Navy.     Let  our  Navy  be 


*  The  right  of  impressing  seamen  in  time  of  war  still  exists — having  been,  for 
the  first  time,  recognised  as  a  right  by  the  very  Act  of  Parliament  which  professed 
to  limit,  if  not  absolutely  to  abolish,  it !  Whether  any  Government  would  ever 
dare  to  enforce  this  "prerogative  of  the  Crown"  is  another  question.  The  country, 
in  all  probability,  would  never  allow  it.  But  it  may  be  hoped  that  the  progress  of 
skill,  science,  and  machinery,  by  rendering  a  large  supply  of  seamen  unnecessary, 
will,  practically,  terminate  a  system  which  our  Government  appears  to  shrink  as 
well  from  abolishing  as  from  putting  into  practice. 


SEC.  II.]  THE   NAVY.  183 

maintained,  as  it  should  be,  for  the  purposes  of  the  defence  of  CHAP.  in. 
the  nation — let  us  get  rid  of  the  multitude  of  establishments 
which  now  oppress,  and  which  are  the  main  source  of  its  cost 
— and  the  Navy  Estimates  may  be  reduced  to  the  amount 
at  which  they  stood  in  1853,  or  to  one-half  of  their  present 
total. 

These  opinions  with  regard  to  the  past  and  future  manage-    .  .These 
ment  of  our  dockyards  have  the  support  of  all  who  have  had  enforcedby 
opportunities  of  making  themselves  acquainted  with  the  sub- t 
ject.     In  the  year  1860,  a  Royal  Commission  was  appointed,  KoyaiCom- 
with  very   ample  powers,   to  inquire  into  the  control   and0n    Dock- 
management  of  the  dockyards.     The  Commissioners  visited yards* 
and  inspected  them,  took  evidence  at  each,  and  personally        Thiir 
inquired   into  their  system.     They  reported  (1)  "that  theEeP°rt 
"  control  and  management  was  inefficient ;  (2)  "that  they  had  on  manage- 
"  found  general  complaints  as  to  the  mode  in  which  the  stores  on  stores, 
"  were  supplied;  (3)  that  the  system  of  accounts  was  elabo- onaccounts 
"  rate  and  minute,  but  not  to  be  relied  upon  for  any  practical 
"  purpose  " — "  that  the  accounts  were  useless  for  purposes  of 
"  comparison,  and   not  to  be  relied  upon  as  statements  of 
"  facts;"  (4)  "that  the  system  of  task  or  job  labour,  carried On  labour, 
"on  in  the  dockyards',  was  open  to  great  abuse,  and  was  based 
"  upon  schemes  of  prices,  consisting  of  94,Y62  items,  which  on  prices, 
"  could  hardly  fail  to  lead  to  numerous  errors  in  pricing  the 
"work  done;"  (5)  "that  large  retrenchments  might  be  made  On  possible 
"  in  the  expenditure  without  impairing  the  efficiency  of  the  mentsf1' 
"  yards ;"  and  they  finally  reported,  "  that  the  policy  of  con-0n  conver- 
"  verting  a  large  number  of  sailing-vessels  to  screws  could  gj^ 
"  only  be  justified  by  necessity ;"  and  that  "  iron  shipbuilding  On 
"  ought  not  to  be  carried  on  in  Her  Majesty's  dockyards  un 
"  the  existing  system."     To  the  Report  of  this  Committee  Memoran- 
was  appended  a  memorandum,  signed  by  Admiral  Spencer  controller6 
Robinson,  the  Controller  of  the  Navy,  which,  after  very  fully  of^e  Navy- 
discussing  every  item  of  dockyard  management,  concluded 
by  stating  that  improvements  were  manifestly  necessary  to 
secure  a  more  vigorous  and  economical  administration  of  the 
naval  yards. 

It  cannot  be  otherwise  than  matter  of  regret  that  this  im- 
portant Report  did  not  receive  the  attention  it  deserved.     It 


184  TAXATION:   ITS  EXPENDITUEE.  [SEC.  II. 

CHAP.  ill.  was  presented  to  the  House  of  Commons  in  1861,  and  it  im- 

This  mediately  led  to  the  appointment  of  a  Select  Committee,  to 

productive  inquire  into  "  the  constitution  of  the  Board  of  Admiralty," 


carried  its  inquiries  over  the  Parliamentary  Session  of 
that  year,  and  concluded  by  reporting  to  the  House  the  evi- 
dence which  it  had  taken.*  But  the  Report  of  the  Royal 
Commission  appears  to  have  had  no  other  effect.  It  in  no 
way  checked  the  abuses  in  the  dockyards,  or  improved  the 
administration  of  their  internal  management,  or  even  of  those 
accounts  which  were  described  to  be  "  useless  for  purposes  of 
"  comparison,  and  not  to  be  relied  upon  as  statements  of 
"  facts."  On  the  contrary,  if  we  may  judge  by  one  occur- 
,  rence,  the  system  pursued  in  the  dockyards,  after  the  Report 

of  the  Royal  Commission,  was  more  gross  than  ever.     In  a 
previous  chapter  of  this  work,  it  has  been  mentioned  that,  in 
1862,  a  Standing  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  was 
appointed,  under  the  title  of  "  the  Committee  of  Public  Ac- 
counts."    From  the  Report  of  that  Committee,  ordered  to  be 
printed  by  the  House  of  Commons  in  July,  1862,  it  appeared 
that,  in  the  early  part  of  that  year,  there  had  been  a  dissen- 
sion between  the  Lords  of  the  Treasury  and  the  Board  of 
Admiralty,  respecting  the  mode  in  whrl'h  the  latter  rendered 
their  accounts.     One  of  the  matters  on  which  a  correspon- 
A  vote  of  deuce  arose  between  the  departments  had  relation   to  the 
of6    com-  application  of  a  sum  of  250,000^.,  voted  by  the  House  of 
Commons  at  the  close  of  the  Session  of  1861,  as  a  credit  for 
the  purpose  of  constructing  iron  ships.     It  appears  that  the 
Admiralty  insisted  upon  taking  this  as  a  general  vote  for 
naval  stores,  which  the  Auditor  of  the  Civil  List  very  properly 
appropria-  objected  to.     It  then  came  out  that  the  vote  of  credit  for 
Admiralty6  building  iron  ships  had  been  absolutely  appropriated  to  the 
^-ood^^d  purchase  of  timber  for  the  construction  of  wooden  ships, 
vessels.      although  an  express  pledge  had  been  given  to  Parliament  by 


*  No  other  member  having  called  attention  to  the  most  important  evidence  taken 
by  this  Committee,  I  conceived  it  my  duty,  a't  the  close  of  the  Session  of  1862,  to 
bring  it  under  public  attention.  The  evidence  taken  was,  almost  exclusively,  the 
evidence  of  former  and  present  Lords  of  the  Admiralty,  and  the  effect  of  it  was  to 
show  that  the  whole  system  of  Admiralty  administration  required  reformation. 


SEC.  II.  J  THE  NAVY.  185 

the  Secretary  of  the  Admiralty  that  no  more  wooden  line-of-  CHAP,  m. 
battle  ships  should  be  constructed  !    The  Committee  examined  The 

the    First  Lord   of    the  Admiralty,  and    he   defended  the  defence  of 


application  of  this  money.     "We   had  better  have  his 

Words  :-  the  money, 

Q.  1281.  "  In  point  of  fact,  did  you  not  apply,  to  the  pur- 
"  chase  of  timber,  the  money  which  was  dedicated  by  Parlia- 
"  ment  to  the  building  of  iron  ships  ?  —  Yes  ;  I  did  that  on  my 
"  own  responsibility.  I  considered  it  the  right  thing  to  do  ; 
"  Parliament  was  not  sitting  when  I  bought  the  whole  of  that 
"  timber  ;  I  may  have  bought  some  whilst  Parliament  was 
"  sitting,  but  most  of  the  timber  was  bought,  I  may  say,  after 
"  Parliament  was  prorogued. 

Q.  1282.  "  But  the  course  was  determined  on  whilst  Par- 
"  liament  was  sitting  ?  —  Yes."  ^hilst  Par- 

liament 
was  sitting, 

The  course  was  determined  on,  therefore,  not  only  in  breach 


of  faith  with  Parliament,,  in  defiance  of  its  decision,  and  in  £ejnemiina~ 
open  violation  of  the  conditions  on  which  the  money  was 
voted,  but  it  was  determined  on  at  a  time  when  Parliament 
might  have  been  consulted.  At  that  time  another  vote  might 
have  been  asked  for,  but  the  Admiralty  did  not  ask  for  it, 
because  they  well  knew  that  it  would  not  have  been 
granted  for  the  object  for  which  it  was  desired.  Considering 
the  circumstances  under  which  this  appropriation  was  made, 
it  is  very  much  to  be  reprehended  ;  and  although  their  ob- 
servations on  the  matter  are  not  severe,  the  Committee 
appeared  to  feel  that  nothing  so  flagrant  has  of  late  years 
come  before  the  public.* 


*  In  addition -to  every  other  consideration,  this  appropriation  was  in  open  defi- 
ance of  a  resolution  of  the  House  of  Commons  passed  30th  March,  1849,  when  the 
House  resolved,  "  That  when  a  certain  amount  of  expenditure  for  a  particular  ser- 
"  vice  has  been  determined  upon  by  Parliament,  it  is  the  bounden  duty  of  the 
"  department  which  has  that  service 'under  its  charge  and  control,  to  take  care  that 
"  the  expenditure  does  not  exceed  the  amount  placed  at  its  disposal  for  that  pur- 
"  pose."  In  the  present  case,  not  only  was  the  amount  voted  for  timber  exceeded, 
but  a  sum  of  money  voted  for  another  purpose  was  applied  to  liquidate  the  excess. 


186  TAXATION  :   ITS  EXPENDITUKE.  [Sio.  II. 

CHAP,  in.       The  pertinacity  with  which  our  rulers  insist  upon  building 

The  con-  large  timber  vessels  is  the  more  extraordinary,  as  other  nations 

TSernof  have  ceased  to  construct  them.     America,  several  years  since, 

sfstedSpin~  Save  ^ie  preference  to  long,  low,  iron  ships,  capable  of  car- 

rying the  largest  guns  and  of  being  driven  at  the  utmost 

possible  speed  ;  and  we  have  seen  the  results  of  that  policy  in 

their  recent  naval  actions.     But,  as  the  First  Lord  of  the 

Admiralty  admitted,  the  fact  is  that  the  construction  of  tim- 

to  employ  ber  vessels  is  a  necessity  arising  from  the  state  of  our  dock- 

yards,       yards.     Possessing  these  large  establishments,  it  is  necessary 

to  employ  them,  and  as  it  is  impossible  to  employ  them  in 

iron  IhlCs  ^  construction  of  iron  vessels,  the  Admiralty  is  forced  to 

cannot  be  employ  them  to  build  timber  ships.     Thus  the  money  of  the 

edDS  J     ~  nation  is  wasted  in  consequence  of  the  maintenance  of  estab- 

lishments, which  any  prudent  manufacturer  would  get  rid  of 

as  fast  as  possible,  when  he  found  that  the  article  they  pro- 

duced was  no  longer  needed,  and  that  they  did  not  contain 

the  machinery  and  labour  necessary  for  the  execution  of  the 

improved  article  required. 

Savings  It  is  only  necessary  to  examine  the  detailed  estimates  for 
might  be  the  dockyards  to  see  how  large  are  the  savings  which  might 
onr°Doek-^e  effected  in  these  establishments.  More  than  thirty  years 
yards.  have  elapsed  since  Mr.  (afterwards  Sir  John)  Barrow,  then 
Sir  J.  Bar-  Secretary  of  the  Admiralty,  proposed  an  alteration  of  the 

ow  s    6  vi— 

ence    on  entire  system,  which  has  never  been  effected.     He  observed, 
of  the  establishments  in  these  yards,  "  there  is  not  a  single  trade 
"  carried  on  in  a  Dockyard  that  has  not  a  master  superin- 
"  tendent.     There  is  a  '  master  smith,'  a  '  master  bricklayer,' 
"  a  'master  sailmaster,'  a  'master  rigger,'  a  'master  rope- 
"  maker,'  a  'master  painter,'  and  others.     They  have  each 
"  250£.  a  year,  and  many  of  them  have  not  more  than  four  or 
"  five  men  under  their  superintendence.     And  another  evil 
"  is,  that  they  not  only  have  large  salaries,  but  become  all  of 
"  them  entitled  to  large  superannuations."     The  same  sys- 
JDispro-tem  continues  to  the  present  time.     At  some  of  the  yards 
Sa-  the  disproportion  between  the  salaries,  &c.,  of  the  officers  on 
'  WagesTd  the  establishment,  and  the  wages  paid  to  artizans  —  that  is  to 
say,  the  disproportion  of  the  unproductive  to  the  productive 
labour  —  is  quite  remarkable. 


row  s    6  vi 

dence    o 


SEC.  II.]  THE  NAVY.  187 

SALARIES   AND  ClIAP.   III. 


Deptford £9,929  ..  £38,796 

Woolwich 18,890  ..  75,825 

Chatham 19,272  ..  100,314 

Shecrness 16,861  ..  69,778 

Portsmouth 26,245  .  >  155,703 

Devonport •    28,762  ..  147,157 

Pembroke 10,793  ..  53,279 

Deal 312  ..  591 

It  is  quite  certain  that  there  are  no  private  establishments 
at  home,  or  public  establishments  abroad,  in  which  the  rela- 
tive cost  of  superintendence  and  of  labour  bear  anything 
like  these  proportions.  Hence  it  comes  that  vessels  built  in 
our  naval  yards  are  so  much  more  costly  than  those  con- 
structed by  contractors. 

With  regard  to  our  Navy  generally,  there  can  be  no  doubt  Our  Rival- 
that  for  a  number  of  years  past  it  had  been  maintained  at  a  France^ 
far  higher  cost,  and  to  a  much  greater  extent,  than  necessity 
required.     This  has  been  occasioned  by  an  absurd  rivalry  be-thecauseof 
tween  France  and  England,  and  by  the  "  panics  "  which  have  °^al  larj^ 
from  time  to  time  been  created  in  the  minds  of  our  people.  mament. 
Whenever  we  have  heard  that  France  launched  a  line-of-bat- 
tle  ship,  we  have  thought  it  necessary  to  lay  the  keels  of  half 
a  dozen ;  and  so  we  have  gone  on  building  and  repairing,  at 
enormous  cost,  until  we  find  ourselves  with  a  vast  fleet  of 
useless,  wooden  line-of-battle  ships,  the  greater  part  of  them 
either  rotting  in  our  naval  yards,  or  entailing  heavy  charges 
for  maintenance.     Might  it  not  be  possible,  for  the  future,  to    is  reduc- 
adopt  a  more  prudent  system  ?     Is  there  any  real  necessity 
for  the  perpetuation  of  such  enormous  naval  armaments  as 
those  we  have  possessed  from  1816  to  the  present  time  ?     At 
a  moment  when  we  are  entering  on  the  reconstruction  of  our 
fleet,  might  we  not  come  to  some  understanding  with  France, 
our  only  rival,  as  to  the  number  of  vessels  of  war  which 
each  country  should  possess?     As  far  back  as  1841,  this       ?SirR. 
policy  was  advocated  by  Sir  Robert  Peel : —  view.8 

"Is  not  the  time  come,"  he  said,  "when  the  powerful 
"  countries  of  Europe  should  reduce  those  armaments  which 
"  they  have  so  sedulously  raised  ?  Is  not  the  time  come 


188  TAXATION:  ITS  EXPENDITURE.  [SEC. IP 

CHAP,  ill.  «  when  they  should  be  prepared  to  declare  that  there  is  no 
"  use  in  such  overgrown  establishments  ?  What  is  the  ad- 
"  vantage  of  one  great  Power  greatly  increasing  its  army  and 
"  navy :  does  it  not  see  that  other  Powers  will  follow  its 
"  example  ?  The  consequence  must  be  that  no  increase  of 
"  relative  strength  will  accrue  to  any  one  Power,  but  that 
"  tbere  must  be  an  universal  consumption  of  the  resources 
"  of  every  country  in  military  preparations.  They  are,  in 
"  fact,  depriving  peace  of  half  its  advantages,  and  anticipat- 
"  ing  the  energies  of  war  whenever  they  may  be  required." 
"  .  .  "  The  true  interest  of  Europe  is  to  come  to  some  com- 
"  mon  accord,  so  as  to  enable  every  country  to  reduce  those 
"  armaments  which  belong  to  a  state  of  war  rather  than  of 
"  peace." 

Appiica-  Circumstances  appeal  strongly  to  us  in  the  present  day  in 
these  sug- favour  of  measures  of  wise  and  safe  economy.  In  conse- 
present8  tO  quence  of  the  deplorable  events  in  America,  a  large  portion 
stances"  °^  our  population  is  exposed  to  an  ordeal  of  great  suffering, 
and  the  rest  of  the  community  is  called  on  to  make  great 
sacrifices  on  their  behalf.  Cannot  our  fiscal  burdens  be  alle- 
viated by  a  diplomatic  arrangement  which  would  save  us  a 
large  portion  of  the  expense  with  which  we  are  threatened 
in  the  re-construction  of  our  JS~avy  ?  There  are  the  best  rea? 
sons  for  believing  that  France  would  embrace  the  proposition 
with  the  utmost  eagerness ;  for  she  also  requires  relief  from 
financial  pressure,  caused  by  the  rival  armaments.  An  ar- 
rangement such  as  that  proposed  by  Sir  Robert  Peel  would 
in  no  way  derogate  from  our  national  honour  or  from  our 
maritime  superiority,  whilst,  to  use  the  words  of  that  states- 
man, "  Peace  would  no  longer  be  deprived  of  half  its  advan- 
"  tages,  and  the  energies  which  should  be  treasured  up  for 
"  war  would  no  further  be  anticipated." 


CHAPTER  IY. 


MISCELLANEOUS  EXPENDITURE. 


THE  Miscellaneous  Estimates,  as  presented  to  the  House  of  CHAI\IV. 
Commons,  are  divided  into  classes.  The  classes  have  varied  The  Mis- 
in  number.  Last  year  they  consisted  of  the  following  :  —  Estimates. 


CLASS.  OBJECT.  EXPENDITURE. 

classifica- 
I  ..............  Works  and.  Buildings  ...........    £695,215  tion. 

II  ..............  Public  Departments  .............  1,473,625 

III  ..............  Law  and  Justice  ................  2,763,308 

IV  ........  ..  .....  Education,  Science,  and  Art  .....  1,410,114 

V  ..............  Colonial  and  Consular  Services.  .  937,400 

VI  ..............  Superannuation  Allowances,  &c.      338,896 

VII  ..............  Special  and  Temporary  Objects.  .      229,739 


crease. 


£7,848,297 

Throughout  the  present  century  these  Miscellaneous  Esti-    Their  in- 
mates have  been  increasing;    but  at  no  period  have  they 
increased  so  largely  as  during  the  last  ten  years. 

MISCELLANEOUS  EXPENDITURE. 

DECIMAL  PERIODS.  AVERAGE  EXPENDITURE 

1798  to  1807 £1,800,012 

1808  to  1817 • . . .  2,162,777 

1818  to  1827 2,115,288 

1828  to  1837 2,269,668 

1838  to  1847 3,016,343 

1848  to  1857 4,650,850 

1858 5,647,243 

1859 6,143,504 

1861 7,848,069 

1862 7,848,297 


190 


TAXATION:  ITS  EXPENDITUKE. 


[SEC.  II. 


CHAP,  iv.       j£  jg  gQughj;  £O  be  shown  that  this  very  large  and  rapid 
oj^®^ai^e  increase  of  expenditure  has  occurred  in  consequence  of  the 
crease,       transfer  to  the  Miscellaneous  Estimates  of  items  of  expendi- 
ture which  formerly  fell  on  the  Consolidated  Fund,  or  on 
the  revenue  in  its  progress  to  the  Exchequer.     But  although 
there  have  been  some  additions  of  this  sort,  yet  the  great 
bulk  of  the  addition  to  the  miscellaneous  expenditure  has 
absence  of  arisen  from  absence  of  economy  in  dealing  with  votes  which 
and^enerai  might  fairly  be  reduced,  and  great  prodigality  in  adding  to 
prodigality  others  which  required  moderate  increase. 
Compara-     The  present    classification  of  these   Estimates  was  first 
t^e  VWWin-  adopted  by  the  directions  of   Sir  George   Clerk,  who  was 
Financial  Secretary  to  the  Treasury  during  Sir  Robert  Peel's 
administration,  in  1843.     It  may  be  desirable,  with  a  view 
to  elucidate  their  growth,  to  show  the  items  under  each  head 
in  that  year  and  since  : — 


crease. 


1843                          CLASS. 
to 
1863            No.  1  

1843. 
.      £316,271 

1848. 
£462,676 

1853. 
£744,938 

1858. 
£694,802 

1862-3. 
£695,215 

No   2 

776  852 

1  031  941 

993  804 

1  235  932 

1  473  625 

No.  3  

834,821 

1,042,727 

1,381,428 

1,404,489 

2,763,308 

No  4 

219,867 

397,520 

598  410 

1  125  627 

1,410  114 

No.  5  

406,836 

426,367 

347,321 

368,762 

937,400 

No.  6  

187,319 

176,258 

209,875 

239,614 

338,896 

No  7 

89  866 

146,084 

324  195 

478  017 

229  739 

Contingencies  

110,000 

100,000 

100,000 

'  100,000 

£2,941,832  £3,783,578  £4,699,971  £5,647,213  £7,848,297 


Committee      In  consequence  of  the  increase  of  these  Estimates  in  1848, 

on  this  Ex-  /  ~  . 

penditure,  a  Committee  ot  the  House  01  Commons  was  appointed  to 
inquire  into  them.  At  that  time,  it  will  be  observed  that 
the  total  amount  had  increased,  comparatively  speaking, 
very  slightly  ;  yet  the  Committee  of  1848  thought  the 
amount  charged  for  many  items  very  excessive,  and  recom- 
mended a  more  economical  expenditure  and  a  better  super- 
Sir  F.  T.  vision  of  these  votes.  Sir  F.  T.  Baring,  M.  P.,  who  has  filled 

view.  various  offices  under  different  Governments,  expressed  his 
opinion  to  this  Committee,  that  "  the  Treasury  ought  to  be 
"  constantly  employed  in  revising  this  expenditure."  "  These 


SEC.  II.]  MISCELLANEOUS  EXPENDITUEE.  191 

"revisions,"  lie  said,  "have  been  periodical ;  in  my  opinion  CHAP-  IV 
"  they  ought  to  be  continuous." 

That  this  revision  has  not  been  continuous,  the  votes  pro- 
posed to  Parliament  will  show. 

CLASS  I.     Public  Buildings,  Royal  Palaces.  CLASS  i. 

The  votes  on  this  account  have  increased  from  462,0002.  in     .  Public 
1848,  to  695,0002.  in  1862. 

The  votes  in  1847-48,  included  241,7112.  for  special  ser- 
vices, of  which  150,0002.  was  for  the  new  Houses  of  Parliament, 
and  50,0002.  for  Buckingham  Palace.     The  actual  increase,     increase 
therefore,  upon  this  vote  may  be  taken  at  474,0002. !  ture 

Excepting  the  new  Foreign  Office  in  Downing  Street,  for  without 
which  15,0002.  only  has  been  voted,  there  is  really  nothing  ponding 
to  account  for  this  increased  outlay,  but  a  general  increase  of ne 
expenditure  on  all  fhe  estimates,  and  an  entire  absence  of 
economy.     Harbour  works,  at  Holyhead,  Portpatrick,  and 
Kingstown,  together  with  harbours  of  refuge,  presented  for- 
midable items  in  the  votes  of  1862,  as  they  did  in  those  of 
1848,  and  every  intermediate  year ;  and  the  maintenance  of    * 
the  new  Houses  of  Parliament  costs  us  also  more  than  30,0002. 
per  annum.     But  it  is  riot  easy  to  account,  by  any  new  works, 
for  the  great  addition  to  expenditure  which  is  presented  under 
this  head.     There  seems  to  be  nothing  to  show  for  the  money. 
85,0002.  a  year  is  now  expended  011  the  Parks ;  but  it  may  be 
doubted  if  the  parks  are  in  better  condition,  at  the  present 
time,  than  they  were  in  1848.*     Indeed,  of  all  the  vast  expen- 
diture that  has  been  incurred  under  this  head  between  1848 


*  It  is  fair  to  observe  with  respect  to  the  Parks,  that  there  is  every  year  greatly 
increased  difficulty  in  maintaining  them ;  and  that  this  is  scarcely  sufficiently 
taken  into  account  by  those  who  complain  of  their  condition.  Formerly  the  Parks 
were  at  the  very  verge  of  the  metropolis,  and  were  only  resorted  to  largely  on 
Sundays  and  holidays.  But  as  London  has  extended  itself,  the  Parks  have  be- 
come situate  in  the  centre  of  large  masses  of  population,  and  are  used  as  thorough- 
fares by  annually  increasing  crowds  of  people.  Even  the  walks  in  Kensington 
Gardens,  which  twenty  years  ago  were  retired  and  comparatively  little  frequented, 
are  now  much  used  as  public  thoroughfares. 


192  TAXATION  :  ITS  EXPENDITURE.  [SEC.  II. 


AP^IV.  and  1862,  it  is  difficult  to  point  to  anything  that  we  can  show 
for  the  money,  except  the  new  Westminster  Bridge  and  its 
approaches. 
The"Har-     "With  respect  to  the  "harbours  of  refuge,"  on  which  vast 

bours       oi 

Refuge."  sums  of  money  have  been  expended  since  1848,  the  country 
has  been  made  aware,  in  the  interval,  of  the  meaning  of  those 
works,  at  Alderney,  Portland,  Dover,  and  elsewhere,  which 
were  commenced  under  that  designation.  The  amount 
which  has  been  expended  upon  these  works  since  1845,  ap- 
pears, by  a  recent  Admiralty  paper,  to  have  been  upwards  of 

Their  cost.  4,000,OOOZ.  :  — 

HARBOURS  OF  REFUGE. 


WORKS. 

Channel  Islands                 .   . 

ORIGINAL 
ESTIMATE. 

£620  000 

EXPENDITURE 

1845  TO  1860. 
£1  102  000 

Dover  

2  500  000 

414,000 

Harwich 

50  000 

132  000 

Portland  

500  000 

878  000 

Holyhead  

808,063 

1,192,000 

Add  Expenditure  in  1861  and  1862 

£3,718,000 
350  000 

£4,068,000 

The      Qf  the  works  in  the  Channel  Islands,  those  at  Alderney 

worl's       it 

Alderney,  alone  have  been  so  largely  extended  that,  in  1860,  they  were 
estimated  to  cost  2,000,000/. ;  and  it  is  the  almost  universal 
opinion  of  practical  men,  that  they  can  never  be  finished 
within  that  estimate.  If  they  ever  are  done  they  would  be 
utterly  useless  for  the  mercantile  marine,  (which  would  avoid 
the  island,)  and  as  a  protection  for  our  Navy,  (which  could  be 
shelled  from  outside  the  breakwater.)  There  were  some 

at  Jersey,  works  commenced  at  St.  Catherine's  Bay,  in  Jersey,  which 
have,  happily,  been  stopped'.  A  large  sum  of  ^money  was 
expended  upon  them  before  it  was  discovered  that  they  would 
be  useless  in  consequence  of  the  depth  of  water  in  the  bay 
being  insufficient,  and  the  set  of  the  tides  rendering  any  ap- 
proach to  it  particularly  dangerous.  One  of  the  Lords  of  the 
Admiralty  informed  a  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons, 
in  1860,  that,  although  a  pier  had  been  constructed  at  St. 


SEC.  II.]  MISCELLANEOUS  EXPENDITURE.  193 

Catherine's  Bay,  which  would  afford   shelter  either  on  one  CHAP.  IV. 
side,  or  the  other,  "  it  was  so  dangerous  that  even  the  oyster 
"  vessels  do  not  use  the  bay  at  all."     The  works,  in  fact, 
which  have  been  executed  at  this  place,  at  a  cost  of  300,0002., 
are  so  much  money  thrown  away. 

The  unexecuted  works  at  Dover  are  in  water  of  such  great  at    Dover, 
depth  that  it  seems  scarcely  possible  they  ever  can  be  exe- 
cuted,   and   they   may  be   considered  virtually  abandoned. 
The  expenditure   has  afforded   a   useful  pier  for  the  mail 
packets,  and  there   it  had    better    be   terminated,  without 
further  expenditure.     The  works  at  Harwich  seem  to  have  at  Harwich. 
done  nothing  for  that  port,  which,  in  the  very  improbable 
event  of  attack,  would  be  best  defended  by  ships  of  war. 

The  case  of  the  so-called  harbours  of  refuge  should  be  a    The  les- 
lesson  to  us  for  the  future.     A  great  deal  of  money  has  been  W0rks 


uselessly  expended  on  very  ill-conceived  plans.  The  nation 
has  been  led  into  an  expenditure  for  objects  which  it  never 
contemplated  when  the  works  were  proposed.  Had  these 
votes  appeared  in  the  ^Navy  Estimates  as  votes  for  fortifica- 
tions, they  would  probably  have  occasioned  more  discussion 
than  they  originally  excited.  It  must  be  acknowledged  that 
the  expenditure  was  a  false  pretence  when  it  was  proposed 
to  vote  it  in  the  civil  service  estimates  as  for  "  harbours  of 
refuge  "  —  for  which  purpose  it  has  been  since  admitted  by 
members  of  the  Government  that  the  principal  works  never 
were  designed. 

The  works  at  Holyhead,  which  have  entailed  such  large  The  works 
and  increasing   charges,  were  originally   estimated  to  cost  J^  Holy" 
about  800,OOOZ.     This  was  in  1855.     In  1856,  390,0002.  was 
added  to  the  estimate,  for  "  extensive  works   required  to  Their  con- 
"  shelter  the  roadstead,  and  recommended  by  the  Admiralty."  tension.6* 
In  the  next  year,  185T,  105,0002.  was  "  recommended  by  the 
"  Admiralty  for  an  improved  landing-place,  and  a  further 
"  extension  of  the  northern  breakwater."     In  1858,  the  Ad- 
miralty "  approved  of  a  plan  of  the  engineer  for  the  con- 
"  struction  of  the  Eastern  Breakwater  Packet  Piers,"  the 
cost  of  which  was  then  estimated  at  445,0002.     Then,  "  for 
"  reasons  specified  by  Mr.  Hawkshaw.  171,9372.  was  added 
"  to  this  estimate,"  making  an  aggregate  to  the  present  time 

13 


194  TAXATION:  ITS  EXPENDITURE.  [SEC.  II. 

CHAP.TV.  (they  may  well  say,  to  the  present  time!)  'of  1,920,OOOZ.  (say 

Two  Millions),  of  which  1,233,0002.  has  been  voted. 
The  real     This  is  a  sample  of  the  way  in  which  estimates  of  this  sort 
Sension?  are  annually  swollen,  "  for  reasons  specified  by  the  engineers.'1 
But  the  explanations  afforded  with  the  estimates  do  not  tell 
the  whole  truth  with  regard  to  the  expenditure  at  Holyhead. 
The  real  fact  is,  that  the  works  were  commenced  on  faulty 
principles.     The  breakwater,  as  first  designed,  took  a  wrong 
direction,  and  so  much  contracted  the  anchorage  space  within 
the  bay,  that  it  became  necessary  to  alter  the  character  of  the 
Present  works.     There  have  been  constant  contentions  respecting  the 
and  future  works  at  this  harbour  between  the  Admiralty  and   other 
Siese*60  0±  departments.     Even  now,  it  can  scarcely  be  said  to  be  settled 
works.       what  is  to  be  done,  or  where  the  expenditure  is  to  end. 
There  is  no  control  over  the  application  of  the  annual  grants ; 
they  are  applied  to  whatever  works  the  engineers  think  pro- 
per.    Sometimes  we  find  an  eastern  breakwater  about  to  be 
constructed ;  at  another  time,  improvement  of  the  existing 
packet  piers,  instead  of  the  eastern  breakwater ;    in  fact, 
although  Parliament  grants  100,OOOZ.   a  year  towards  this 
object,  and  is  told  that  that  vote  must  be  repeated  for  six  or 
seven  years  longer,  yet  nobody  can  venture  to  say  what  is 
proposed  to  be  done  with  the  money,  or  what  will  be  the  effect 
of  these  works  when  they  are  finished.     At  the  present  time, 
there  are  many  old  sailors  at  Holyhead  who  think  the  anchor- 
age in  no  way  improved  by  the  works,  and  that  it  would 
have  been  better  had  they  never  been  commenced. 
'Keport  of     "  Of  all  the  departments  of  the  public  service,"  reported 
mftteoCoDo"f tne  Committee  of  1848,  "  the  department  of  Works  requires 
the8  Public "  ^ie  most  economical  superintendence.     The  expenses  of  all 
"  the  public  offices  and  public  grounds  are  entrusted  to  it,  and 
Works  de- "  it  has  to  exercise  a  discretion  upon  the  application  of  all 
partment.   « pubiic  functionaries,  and  to  decide  upon  matters  of  re- 
"  ference  from  architects  and  artists.     It  should,  therefore, 
"  be  subject  to  the  closest  supervision  of  Parliament  and  -the 
"  special  control  of  the  Treasury."     It  may  be  reasonably 
inferred,  from  the  increase  of  expenditure,  that  this  recom- 
mendation has  met  with  small  attention. 


SKO.  II.]  MISCELLANEOUS  EXPENDITURE.  j_y  •> 

CHAP.  IV. 

CLASS  II.-— Salaries  and  Expense  of  Public  Departments.  CLASS  n. 

The  expenditure  under  this  head  comprehends  the  pay-  Salaries  of 
ments  made  in  the  offices  of  the  two  Houses  of  Parliament,  payments. 
the  Treasury,  Home,  Foreign,  and  Colonial  Offices,  and  other 
public  departments  ;*   together  with  the  cost  of  printing, 
stationery,  postage,  and  the  secret  service  money. 

This  expenditure  has  risen  from  1,031,000£.  in  1848,  to  Compara- 
1,473,0002.   in    1862  ;— increase   of   expenditure,    442,000/.  dtoe^Ti 
But  of  this  increase  it  is  right  to  observe  that  a  large  pro-  J®*®     and 
portion,  perhaps  one-half,  arises  from  the  charges  transferred 
to  the  Miscellaneous  Estimates  from  the  Consolidated  Fund, 
and  from  amounts  at  one  time  charged  upon  gross  revenue. 

Contrasting  the  expenditure  of  the  principal  Government    Difficulty 
offices  at  the  present  time  with  that  of  1848,  there  is  reason  .of  institu*- 

ing  an  ac- 

to  think  that  most  of  these  establishments  have  been  kept  curate  com- 
within  limits.     It  is  not  easy  to  institute  an  accurate  com- 
parison between  the  amounts  voted  at  the  present  time  and 
those  voted   some  years  ago,  because,  prior  to  1850,  fees,  explained, 
which  were  received  by  several  of  the  departments,  went  to 
the  liquidation  of  their  expenditure,  which  fees  have  since 
been  paid  into  the  Consolidated  Fund.     The  following,  how- 
ever, presents  a  comparative  view  of  the  expenses  of  the 
principal  offices  now  and  in  1848  : — 

SALAKIES,  &c. 

Expenses 
DEPARTMENT.  1848.  1862.  ofpnncipal 

offices. 
Treasury £57,700        ..      £52,363 

Home  Office 18,700  ..  25,856 

Foreign  Office 72,500  ..  64,319 

Colonial  Office 27,461  ..  30,748 

Paymaster-General 29,966  ..  19,800 

On  the  other  hand,  there  are  some  items  in  this  class        other 
which  have  very  rapidly  and  seriously  increased.     In  1836, lt( 


Not,  it  may  be  observed,  of  all  the  public  departments. 


196  TAXATION :  ITS  EXPENDITURE.  [SEC.  II. 

CHAP— IV'  a   Committee  "  on  the  House  of  Commons  offices  "  recom- 
mended large  reductions  in  the  staff  and  expenses  of  the  two 
Houses  of  Parliament.     The  Miscellaneous  Estimates'  Com- 
mittee of  1848  also  recommended  that  "  the  accounts  of  the 
Expenses "  Hoi&e  of  Lords  should  be  submitted  to  searching  revision  ;" 
Houses  *  of  an(i  that  considerable  reductions  should  be  made  in  the  staff 
™«rt!la~       and  salaries  of  the  House  of  Commons.     These  recommen- 

menu 

dations  have  not  been  attended  to  ;  and  the  charge  which  the 
public  has  to  bear  in  respect  of  these  offices  is  increasing.  A 
portion  of  this  increase  is,  no  doubt,  due  to  the  increased 
business  of  Parliament,  especially  in  the  Committees,  and 
some  portion  also  to  the  additional  cost  of  the  maintenance 
of  the  newr  houses.  But,  with  every  allowance,  there  can 
be  no  question  that  the  expenses  of  the  Houses  of  Parliament 
are  very  largely  in  excess  of  the  amount  at  which,  the  busi- 
ness of  Parliament  might  be  conducted.  The  amount  of 
charge  last  year  was  nearly  70,000^.,  without  the  salaries  of 
the  Speaker  or  Sergeant-at-Arms,  which  are  charged  upon 
the  Consolidated  Fund,  and  without  printing  and  stationery, 
which  was  included  in  another  vote,  and  which  amounted  to 
69,OOOZ.  And  it  is  to  be  observed  that  this  expenditure  of 
nearly  140,OOOZ.  a  year  by  no  means  represents  the  whole 
cost  of  conducting  the  business  of  Parliament,  for  the  officers 
of  the  House  of  Lords  do  not  pay  the  fees  received  in  that 
House  to  the  Consolidated  Fund,  but  choose  to  pay  their  own 
salaries  and  expenses  out  of  them,  receiving  from  the  House 
of  Commons  such  sum  only  as  is  required  to  defray  the 
balance. 

The  Poor     The  expenses  of  the  Poor  Law  Board  also  show  a  very 
LawBoard.  j^^y  jncrease.     Observe  the  figures  in  the  following  table : — 

POOR  LAW  COMMISSION  EXPENSES. 


1845 £52,770 

1846.......... 120,700 

1847 182,200 


1853 £221,361 

1860 223,669 

1362...  ...       226.723 


The  increase  of  cost  in  this  department  is  the  less  to  be 
justified  because  the  pauperism  of  the  country  has  not  in- 
creased. In  1849,  the  number  of  paupers  in  receipt  of  relief 


SEC.  II.] 


MISCELLANEOUS  EXPENDITUEE. 


197 


in  England  and  Wales  was  935,000,  in  1862  it  was  932,400.  CHAP.  IV. 
In  Scotland  the  number  has  diminished  within   the  same 
period  from  82,300 .to  78,400,  and  in  Ireland  from  620,000  to 
59,500. 

Of  all  the  expenditure  in  this  class,  the  greatest  increase     Pringing 
has,  however,  been  in  that  for  printing  and  stationery.     It  tionery. 
has  risen  as  follows  : — 


COST  or  PRINTING  AND  STATIONERY  FOR  PUBLIC  DEPARTMENTS. 


1838 £206,946 

1843 237,483 

1848 302,362 


1860 £337,111 

1861 416,218 

1862...  342,649 


A  rise  from  an  average  of  248,OOOZ.  to  an  average  of  365,OOOZ. 

a  year  !     There  can  be  no  doubt  that  there  is  great  waste 

in  the  printing  both  for  the  Houses  of  Parliament  and  the 

public  departments.     Not  only  is  much  of  the  work  paid  for 

at  excessive  rates,  but  there  is  a  vast  amount  of  unnecessary 

printing  executed.     This  has  long  been  a  subject  of  com- 

plaint ;  and,  in  1848,  Sir  Charles  Trevelyan,  as  Secretary  to  Sir  Charles 

the  Treasury,  gave  important  evidence  to  the  House  of  Com-  yan's  Evi- 

mons,  showing  the  great  difficulty  the  Treasury  had,  in  re- 

straining,  in  any  way,  the  cost  of  printing,  and  the  pains  dlture- 

they  had  taken  to  impress  on  the  heads  of  different  depart- 

ments the  necessity  of  economy,  which  they  appeared  very 

loth  to  practise.     The  Treasury,  amongst  other  things,  pro- 

duced to  the  Committee  "  a  mountain  of  papers,"  of  which 

they  had  refused  to  authorize  the  printing.     "  Will  you  ex- 

plain  what  that  mountain  of  papers  is  ?"  asked  the  Commit- 

tee.     "  That,"  replied  a  Treasury  officer,  "  is  the  evidence 

"  taken  by  the  Post  Office  in  an  inquiry  into  the  case  of 

"  Robert  Grapes,  a  dismissed  letter  carrier.     The  Treasury  in 

"  objected  to  printing  such  a  mass  of  papers;  and  the 

"  dence,  extending  to  2,160  folio  pages,  has  been  deposited  GraPe8-" 

"  in  the  Journal  Office  for  purposes  of  reference.     The  whole 

"  of  this  evidence  was  copied  in  the  office  of  the  Post  Office 

"  solicitor.     It  relates  to  an  individual  case,  of  no  public  in- 

"  terest  whatever,  but  it  would  all  have  been  printed  but  for 

"  the  interference  of  the  Treasury." 


The 


the 


198  TAXATION :   ITS  EXPENDITURE.  [SEC.  II. 

CHAP,  iv.      It  is  not  easy  to  lay  down  any  rule  by  which  the  useless 
Difficulty  expenditure  under  this  head  could  be  controlled.     The  Print- 
ing this  ex- ing  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons   exercises  some 
per  Liture.  cneck  .  j^  ^  is  not  in  the  printing  of  the  House  of  Commons 
only,  that  the  waste  occurs.     Illustrations  have  already  been 
given  of  the  immense  mass  of  printing  done  for  the  Customs 
Department,  the  Inland  Revenue,  the  Post  Office,  &c.    Other 
different  departments  of  Government,  especially  the  Patent 
Office,  require  control  in  regard  to  printing,  and  great  com- 
plaints are  also  made  of  the  extravagant  use  of  stationery  in 
the  Foreign  Office,  &c.,  where  "  they  refuse  to  use  anything 
but   the  finest   quality   and  most  expensive  description  of 
paper,"  even  for  the  roughest  drafts. 

Sngges-  There  are  constant  conflicts  about  stationery  between 
m°eetmgf°rtne  Stationery  Department  and  the  public  offices.  The 
this  diffi-  Stationery  Department  was  established,  and  is  maintained  at 
a  cost  of  nearly  18,OOOZ.  a  year,  to  control  the  cost  of  print- 
ing and  stationery.  It  certainly  has  not  succeeded  in  effect- 
ing that  object ;  and,  as  its  own  expenditure  exhibits  a  con- 
siderable increase,  it  really  becomes  a  question  whether  the 
whole  system  ought  not  to  undergo  revision.  The  wholesale 
City  stationers  would,  no  doubt,  contract  to  supply  all  the 
Government  departments  at  a  reasonable  rate,  saving  the 
cost  of  warehousing,  distribution,  and  all  the  attendant  ex- 
penses of  this  costly  "  stationery  establishment."  As  regards 
printing,  the  great  expense  which  is  incurred,  obviously 
arises  from  the  want  of  a  competent  Editor.  Masses  of  re- 
ports and  documents  are  sent  to  the  printer  and  converted 
into  immense  blue  books,  the  gist  of  which  might  be  em- 
bodied in  a  few  sheets  or  even  pages.  There  are  instances 
which  show  that  reports  which  extend  over  eight  or  ten  large 
volumes,  which  people  are  deterred  from  reading  by  their 
very  size,  might,  if  properly  edited,  be  embodied  in  one 
volume  of  two  or  three^hundred  pages,  which  would  be  ac- 
ceptable from  its  general  interest. 

Govern-     The  Postage  of  public  departments  has  recently  appeared 
mentPost- .n  ^  ^^  ^  ^  Estimates,  having,  obviously,  been  intro- 
duced here  in  order  to  relieve  the  charge  of  the  Post  Office, 
which  threatened  to  present  a  deficit  instead  of  a  revenue  to 


SEO.  II.]  MISCELLANEOUS  EXPENDITURE.  199 

the  Exchequer.  The  Post  Office  charges  on  the  other  de-GH.u>.  iv. 
partments  of  the  Government  for  postage  is  an  increasing 
item.  In  1861  it  was  100,0002. ;  in  1862,  115,500Z. ;  a  sum 
of  money  which  represents  nearly  28  millions  of  single  letters. 
It  is,  no  doubt,  convenient  to  the  Post  Office  to  swell  its 
accounts  by  making  this  charge  upon  the  other  departments 
of  the  public  service  for  the  conveyance  of  official  communi- 
cations. But  it  scarcely  seems  that  the  public  revenue  is 
benefited  thereby.  At  the  best,  it  is  only  taking  cash  from 
the  Exchequer  in  one  form  to  pay  it  back  again  in  another  ; 
and  it  is  questionable  whether  the  accounts  necessary  to  be 
kept  in  order  to  determine  the  items  due  by  each  depart- 
ment may  not  abstract  a  very  large  per-centage  of  the  sum 
received. 

In  this  class  of  estimates  are  included  the  charges  for  the  The  Gov- 
officers  and  attendants  of  the  household  of  the  Lord  Lieuten-  esSFSi?- 
ant  of  Ireland,  and  for  the  salaries  and  expenses  of  the  Chief  JJehfnd  °f 
Secretary's    Office.       The    Lord    Lieutenant's    own   salary 
(20,OOOZ.  a  year)  is  made   a  charge  upon   the   Consolidated 
Fund ;  but  the  expenses  of  his  secretary,  his  aide-de-camps, 
chaplain,  steward,  comptroller  and  chamberlain  of  the  house- 
hold, his  gentleman  usher,  his  gentleman  in  waiting,  his  two 
gentlemen  at  large,  his  State  porter,  and  all  the  other  para- 
phernalia of  this  mock  royalty,  are  charged  to  the  country  in 
the  annual  estimates.     It  has  long  been  contended  that  the  Proposed 
separate  establishments  maintained  for  the  Government  of  these  ^ste- 
Ireland  ought  to  be  abolished  ;  and  it  is  to  be  regretted  thatblishments 
the  opposition  of  the  Dublin  tradespeople  should  have  pre- 
vented a  change  so  desirable  for  their  country  from  being 
effected.     It  has  been  well  said,  that  this  vice-royalty  is  "  a 
badge  of  inferiority  and  subjection  on  the  neck  of  the  sister 
country."     There  is  no  more  occasion  for  a  viceroy  in  Dublin 
than  for  a  viceroy  at  York  or  Edinburgh.     Ireland  ought  now 
to  be  treated  as  an  integral  part  of  the  empire — not  as  a 
separate  dominion.     She  ought  to  insist,  not  on  a  distinct  WMch  are 
Government,  but  on  her  right  to  participate  in  all  the  advan-^ 
tages  of  national  Government.     Her  true  interest  is,  not  to  ests- 
have  an  English  nobleman  sent  over  to  Dublin  to  spend  a 
large  salary  at  the  Castle,  but  to  have  her  people  and  their 


200  TAXATION :  ITS  EXPENDITUKE.  [SEC.  II. 

V.  interests  fully  and  properly  represented  in  London,  and  to 
have  her  taxation  economized.  The  separate  establishment 
for  the  Government  of  Ireland  is  only  productive  of  a  conflict 
of  authority  from  which  Ireland  suffers.  The  cost  'of  that 
separate  authority  is,  in  reality,  paid  for  by  Ireland  herself; 
so  that  in  every  way  this  vice-royalty  is  a  source  of  weakness 
to  the  country.  Looking  at  the  stride  Ireland  is  taking  at 
the  present  time — seeing  the  great  agricultural  development 
in  the  south,  and  the  rapid  progress  of  manufacturing  indus- 
try in  the  north,  it  is  obvious  that  Ireland  would  be  most 
benefited  by  such  changes  as  would  ensure  her  self-reliance, 
self-government,  and  an  economical  employment  of  her  re- 
sources. The  maintenance  of  a  separate  Government,  entail- 
ing costly  establishments,  and  large  bodies  of  troops  in 
different  quarters  of  the  country,  is  inconsistent  with  these 
principles  ;  and  Ireland  could  not  better  exhibit  her  sense  of 
independence  than  by  insisting  upon  the  removal  of  these 
badges  of  subjection. 

The  past  Ireland,  under  a  proper  system  of  government,  may  be  a 
of  Ireland,  source  of  great  wealth  to  the  United  Kingdom.  Bad  laws 
have,  hitherto,  prevented  her  development.  In  the  last  cen- 
tury we  subjected  a  large  proportion  of  her  population  to 
civil  disabilities ;  thereby  preventing  their  making  an  ade- 
quate addition  to  their  own,  and,  consequently,  to  the  national 
wealth.  During  the  early  part  of  the  present  century,  our 
legislators  restricted  the  commerce  of  Ireland  ;  and  thereby 
not  only  deprived  her  people  of  the  opportunity  of  profiting 
by  the  growing  trade  of  the  world,  but  also  deprived  them  of 
proper  interest  in  the  development  of  those  products  which 
would  have  formed  the  natural  basis  of  their  trade.  But, 
now  that  civil  disabilities  have  been  removed,  and  that  free- 
dom of  trade  has  been  established  as  well  for  Ireland  as  for 
England,  Ireland  ought  rapidly  to  become  a  wealthy,  instead 
Progres-  of  being  an  impoverished  country.  As  the  cost  of  production 
provement  is  low  in  Ireland,  the  rate  of  profit  must  be  high.  The  cattle, 
trade.  " '  f°r  ^ne  rearing  of  which  both  her  land  and  her  climate  are  so 
well  adapted,  together  with  butter,  and  other  agricultural 
productions,  find  a  ready  market,  at  high  prices,  on  this  side 
the  Channel ;  and  in  her  linen  fabrics  she  has  great  advan- 


SEC.  IT.  ]  MISCELLANEOUS  EXPENDITURE.  201 

tages  over  any  other  country  in  the  world.  Railroads  and  CHAP.  IV. 
steam-vessels  have  bridged  the  Channel,  and  brought  the  two 
countries  together.  The  trade  between  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland,  which  was  represented,  in  1830,  by  12,329  vessels, 
of  1,160,000  tons,  is  now  represented  by  35,000  vessels,  of 
nearly  6,000,000  tons  ;  a  fact  which  shows,  perhaps  more 
conclusively  than  any  that  could  be  cited,  the  rapidly  in- 
creasing trade  of  Ireland.  Little,  in  fact,  seems  wanting  to 
make  Ireland  a  great  and  prosperous  country,  but  a  wise, 
liberal,  and  economical  Government,  which  she  can  best  ob- 
tain by  ridding  herself  of  separate  establishments.* 

CLASS.  III.— Law  and  Justice.  CLASS  IIL 

Under  this  head  are  comprised  expenses  incurred  in  the       Police, 
administration  of  Law  and  Justice,  the  cost  of  the  consta- 
bulary    and    police,  and  the  expenses  of  the    prisons,  tshe 
convict   establishments,    and   transportation.      The  charges 
apply  to  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland. 

The   total   estimate   under   this  head,  for  1862-63,  was    Their  in- 
2,763,308£.     The  estimate  has  been  a  rapidly  increasing  one.  cost.Smg 
In  1838,  it  was  591,915?. ;    in  1848,   1,042,7272. ;    in  1852, 
1,204,874*. 

If  the  amount  paid  under  this  estimate  represented  in  any  Small  pro- 
way  the  total  cost  of  administering  law  and  justice  in  the 
United  Kingdom,  it  might  be  thought  that  it  was  not  dearly 
paid  for.  Unfortunately,  it  is  a  very  small  proportion  of  the 
total  expense.  Under  the  head  Courts  of  Justice,  750,OOOZ. 
per  annum  is  payable  out  of  the  Consolidated  Fund,  for 
the  salaries  of  the  judges,  the  police  magistrates,  the  County 


*  The  diminution  of  pauperism  in  Ireland  is  a  striking  feature  in  the  statistics  of 
that  country.  In  1849,  two  years  after  the  famine,  no  less  than  020,000  paupers 
were  receiving  relief  in  Ireland,  of  which  number  423,000  were  receiving  out-door 
relief.  During  the  five  succeeding  years,  emigration  and  the  improved  prosperity  % 
of  the  country  rapidly  diminished  the  number,  and  in  1862  the  total  number  of 
paupers  was  under  60,000,  the  out-door  recipients  being  only  4,373.  I  regret  to 
find  that  the  expenses  of  the  Irish  Poor-law  Department  have  not  diminished  in 
the  like  proportion .  On  the  contrary,  the  staff,  which  cost  21,500£.  in  1849,  cost 
nearly  25,000?.  in  1862. 


202  TAXATION  :  ITS  EXPENDITURE.  [SEO  II. 


.  Court  judges,  compensations,  law  charges  in  Scotland  and 
Ireland  ;  together  with  judicial  pensions.  A  very  large  pro- 
portion of  the  cost  of  administering  law  and  justice  is  also 
borne  by  fees,  which  are  payable  in  the  different  courts,  and 
of  which  there  is  no  account.  And,  besides  all  this,  the 
county  and  borough  gaols,  the  police  of  the  country,  and 
numberless  other  expenses  connected  with  the  administration 
of  law  and  justice,  are  thrown  upon  the  county,  borough, 
and  parochial  rates.  Of  the  total  cost,  therefore,  of  adminis- 
tering law  and  justice  we  really  know  nothing.  It  is  repre- 
sented by  2,800,0002,  in  the  estimates,  but,  probably,  by  ten 
times  that  amount  in  fact. 

The  Police:  The  item  on  which  the  largest  increase  of  expenditure  has 
accrued  of  late  years  has  been  the  item  of  Police.  The 
Metropolitan  police  alone  entail  a  cost  upon  the  public  of 
562,0002.  a  year,  exclusive  of  nearly  50,0002.  more  for  the 
salaries  of  police  magistrates  and  the  expenses  of  police 
in  the  Me-  courts.  400,0002.  of  this  charge  is  borne  by  the  inhabitants 
tropo  is  :  ^j-liin  t]ie  metropolitan  district,  who  are  assessed  for  police 
services,  at  the  rate  of  6d.  in  the  pound  upon  their  rentals, 
and  who  otherwise  contribute  towards  the  force.  But  nearly 
150,0002.  a  year  is  required  from  the  Imperial  Exchequer,  to 
meet  the  expenditure  on  account  of  the  metropolitan  police 
alone. 

in  Conn-  Besides  the  metropolitan  police,  a  police  force  has  recently 
Boroughs,  been  introduced  into  the  counties  and  boroughs  of  England 
and  Scotland,  under  the  direction  of  the  local  magistracy, 
and  the  State  undertakes  to  pay  one-fourth  of  the  charge  of 
the  pay  and  clothing  of  this  local  force,  and  the  salaries  and 
allowances  of  all  the  inspectors.  This  payment  was  offered 
to  the  different  counties  and  boroughs  to  induce  them  to 
adopt  the  local  Police  Act.  The  cost  it  entails  on  the  Mis- 
cellaneous Estimates  is,  at  the  present  time,  about  230,0002. 
a  year,  showing  that  the  whole  cost  of  the  county  and 
borough  police  force,  irrespective  of  London,  must  very  nearly 
*amount  to  1,000,0002.  per  annum. 

Consider-  The  employment  of  so  large  a  force  for  the  prevention,  re- 
the  n8  Tm-  Pressi°nj  and  detection  of  crime,  gives  rise  to  very  serious 
pioyment  reflections.  Our  police,  in  number  and  pay,  almost  amount 


SEC.  II.]  MISCELLANEOUS    EXPENDITTJKE.  203 

to  an  army.     The  most  despotically  governed  nation  probably  CHAP.  IV. 
never  possessed  a  force  so  numerous  or  so  costly.     Is  such  a  Of  Tlarge 
force  requisite  for  the  protection  of  person  and  property  ?  IfP°]lcei 
it  is,  why  are  the  people  of  these  islands  so  much  more  given  forcesu( 
to  offences  than  the  people  of  any  other  nation  \  required? 

The  extension  of  the  police  system,  under  a  centralized  Should  the 
authority,  such  as  that  which  exists  in  the  metropolis,  and  office     be 


which  is  being  extended  over  the  rest  of  the  kingdom,  ought 
to  be  viewed  with  jealousy.  There  have  been  times  in  the 
history  of  this  country  when  the  existence  of  such  a  force 
might  have  been  highly  prejudicial  to  the  liberties  of  the 
subject.  Such  occasions  may  recur  ;  and,  it  seems  indiscreet 
at  any  time  to  arm  the  Home  Office  with  the  power  which  so 
vast  a  police  affords  it. 

It  admits  of  no  doubt  how  far  such  a  force  is  needed  to 
protect  property.     It  was  no  well-grounded  complaint  of 
want  of  protection  from  the  possessors  of  property  wThich  led 
to  the  extension  of  the  metropolitan  police  system  into  our 
counties  and  borough  towns.     Property,  in  fact,  is  at  the  pre-    Property 
sent  time  less  liable  to  depredation  than  at   any  previous  to    depre- 
period.     When  money  was  hoarded  in  private  houses,  and  than  n  for- 
carried  about  from  place  to  place  by  individuals,  burglaries  mer  y> 
and  highway  robberies  were  commonly  committed  to  obtain 
it.     But  money  is  now  deposited  in  banks,  locked  up  in  secu- 
rities, converted  into  Consols,  or  railway  debentures  ;  and 
where  it  is  obliged  to  be  kept  to  any  large  amount,  as  in 
banking  houses,  mechanical  securities,  in  the  form  of  iron 
safes,  iron  doors,  iron  shutters,  &c.,  are  provided  for  its  pro- 
tection.    The  offences  against  property  in  the  present  day    The   of- 
are  not,  indeed,  of  a  class  .which  a  police  force  can  prevent,  against 
They  are  not  offences  of  a  violent,  but  offences  of  a  fraudu-^SiLs 
lent,  character.     In  this  respect  our  criminal  statistics  showap°lic(:can 

;  -1  prevent. 

that  the  whole  character  of  crime  in  this  country  has,  of  re- 
cent years,  been  undergoing  rapid  change.  Nevertheless, 
the  system  of  the  Home  Office  has  been  to  extend  the  num- 
bers and  not  the  skill  of  the  police  ;  which  accounts  for  the 
circumstance  that  whilst  they  bring  to  justice  every  little  boy 
who  steals  an  apple  in  the  streets,  they  are  utterly  unable  to 
unravel  the  mystery  of  a  crime  so  horrible  as  that  which  was 


204  TAXATION :  ITS  EXPENDITURE.  [SEC.  II. 

CHAP.  IV.  concealed  within  the  sack  carried  over  Waterloo  Bridge  by 

"  the  woman  dressed  in  black." 
Principal     The  increase  of  the  police  force  in  London,  and  its  exten- 

mSats7  of  sion  to  the  provinces,  seems  to  be  not  a  necessity  resulting 

Lce<  from  the  extension  of  crime  so  much  as  a  concession  to  a 

class  of  society  who  are  very  fond  of  having  a  sort  of  orderly 

InLondon,  officer  at  their  command.  In  London  the  great  employment 
of  the  force  is  in  "  keeping  order  "  on  public  occasions.*  We 
find  whole  regiments  of  policemen  arranging  carriages  on 

at  state  ce- occasions  of  State  ceremonial;  "keeping  back  "the  crowd, 
)mals'  and  thereby,  very  often,  both  overcrowding  one  part  of  a 

balls,         street  and  preventing  passage  in  another ;  attending  balls, 

res>     theatres,  and  other  entertainments  where  the  arrangements 

would,  probably,  be  qrtite  as  well  regulated  without  their  in- 

and  public  terference  ;  and  "  doing  duty  "  at  public  offices,  museums, 
galleries,  gardens,  and  other  public  places,  where  the  constant 
attendance  of  such  officers  is  far  from  being  either  necessary 
or  desirable.  The  display  of  policemen,  constantly  employed 
about  the  Palaces,  the  Houses  of  Parliament,  the  Courts  of 
Law,  the  Home  Office,  and  other  public  places,  cannot  but 
strike  many  persons  as  an  exhibition  unwarranted  by  neces- 
sity, and  degrading  to  the  people.  From  the  time  of  William 
At  West-  Hufus  to  the  time  of  William  IY.  the  doors  of  the  great  Hall 

Hall.  at  Westminster  were  open  to  all,  without  distinction  of  rank 
or  person.  JS"ow-a-days  the  entrance  is  guarded  by  police 
constables  and  inspectors,  who,  if  they  do  not  absolutely  bar 
admission,  deter  numbers  from  entering.  And  so  with  other 
public  places  in  the  metropolis.  In  every  west-end  resort  an 
officer  of  the  A  division  is  to  be  met  with — except,  indeed, 
as  has  so  often  been  remarked,  in  the  place  where  his  ser- 
vices are  needed. f 


*  The  expenses  of  the  police  employed  at  the  International  Exhibition,  prin- 
cipally outside  the  building,  were  charged  to  us,  last  year,  at  21,52lZ. 

t  The  use  made  of  the  police  by  persons  who  ought  to  know  better  is  sometimes 
quite  unjustifiable.  Witness  the  memorable  case  which  came  to  light  the  other 
day,  in  which  the  Benchers  of  the  Middle  Temple  admitted  that,  whilst  conduct- 
ing a  private  aud  delicate  inquiry  in  their  Parliament  Chamber,  they  had  two 
police  officers  (besides  their  own  constables  and  porters)  in  waiting,  ready  to  enter 
the  room  whenever  they  heard  a  knock  upon  the  table.  These  officers  were  at 


SEC.  II.]  MISCELLANEOUS  EXPENDITUEE.  205 

In  the  country  there  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  purposes  CHAP.  IV. 
for  which  the  police  are  principally  used.     They  are  the  pro-    Empioy- 

*  V      £  T4.  •          j    i  if  i  ment  °f  tke 

lectors,  not  of  property,  but  of  game.     It  is  very  doubtful,  county 
indeed,  how  far  the  existence  of  this  force  diminishes  even  P° lico'ame_ 
the  offence  of  poaching.     Many  persons  incline  to  the  opinion  keePers- 
that  the  county  constabulary  system  is  creative  rather  than 
repressive  of  offences.     A  constable  naturally  desires  the  re-    The  con- 
putation  of  being  a  "vigilant  and  active"  officer.     He  finds oflhifsya- 
a  rabbit  in  the  possession  of  some  young  man,  whose  dog  may tem' 
have  killed  it  in  a  field,  as  he  came  home  from  work.     He 
gets  him  convicted  for  poaching,  and  receives  acclamations  from 
the  bench  of  magistrates,  who  "  convict  the  prisoner."     In  the 
hamlet,  however,  in  which  the  case  occurs,  "the  prisoner" 
has  friends  and  relations,  who,  whilst  they  suffer  from  his  im- 
prisonment, resent  his  fate.     They  burn  to  avenge  themselves  the    crea- 
on  the  police,  the  magistrates,  the  game,  and  the  landowners.  SSL     the 
The  grounds  of  the  landlord  are  invaded,  his  hedges  injured,  ^o 
his  trees  lopped,  his  poultry  killed,  his  dogs  poisoned,  and  fences, 
numberless  petty  depredations  committed,  more  for  his  an- 
noyance than  for  the  profit  of  his  persecutors.     The  police 
are  "  assaulted  in  the  execution  of  then'  duty,"  and  fresh 
feuds  arise  every  day  between  the  labouring  population  and 
the  constabulary.     The  magistrates  are  occupied  incessantly 
in  hearing  charges  arising  out  of  this   state  of  things.     Of- 
fences of  a  petty  character  increase  instead  of  diminish.     At 
length  the   offences  themselves  begin  to  assume  a  serious 
aspect.     A  dark  night,  a  rick-yard,  and  a  lucifer  match,  are 
alone  wanting  to  a  conflagration ;  and  at  the  next  assizes  the 
Judge,  in  his  charge  to  the  Grand  Jury,  has  to  regret  that  a 
section  of  the  county  which  used  to  be  remarkable  for  the 
orderly  habits  of  her  Majesty's  subjects,  has  become  disorgan- 
ized, and  inhabited  by  "a  very  dangerous  class  of  the  popu- 
lation*." 

Such  are  among  the  dangers  which  the  Home  Office  has 


last  called  in  to  take  into  custody  a  witness  who  had  grossly  affronted  the  benchers ; 
but  against  whom,  when  the  parties  arrived  at  the  police  office,  the  collective  legal 
acumen  of  the  Middle  Temple  bench  could  not  devise  any  legal  charge  which  the 
policeman  could  accept  1 


206  TAXATION:  ITS  EXPENDITURE.  [SEC.  II. 

CHAP^IV.  brought  upon  us  by  its  recent  policy  with  regard  to  the  police. 
Without  having  in  any  degree  diminished  the  cost  of  criminal 
prosecutions,  or  of  the  administration  of  justice  in  this 
country,  we  are  subjected,  under  the  policy  of  the  depart- 

Extension  ment.  to  a  most  serious  addition  to  our  taxation.     The  police 

of  the  Po-  . 

licesystem.  in  the  metropolis  now  number  6,000  men,  of  whom  it  should 
be  observed  that  n'o  less  than  808  are  "  superintendents," 
"  inspectors,"  and  "  sergeants  " — giving  one  officer  to  about 
'every  7-£  men.     There  has  been  a  tendency  of  late  years  to 
bring  the  administration  ol  every  sort  of  metropolitan  object 
within  police  surveillance,  if  not  to  place  it  under  direct  police 
superintendence.     We  used  to  boast  in  England  of  our  self- 
government,  but  the  tendency  of  the  Home  Office  legislation 
"  Police  has  certainly  been  police  government.     Like  everything  else, 
ment!"~     the  system,  no  doubt,  has  within  itself  much  that  is  advan- 
tageous ;  but  it  is  quite  possible  to  carry  it  too  far.     One  of 
the  strongest  proofs  that  we  are  exceeding  our  police  power, 
Com-  is  the  fact  that  strong  complaints  have  of  late  years  emanated 
the  Magis-from  seats  of  justice  as  to  the  influence  exercised  by  the  police 
tracF-        within  the   courts.     The   magistracy  presiding  over  courts 
within  the  metropolitan  district  (recently  styled  by  the  Home 
Office   "  the  police  magistracy ")  complain,  that  instead  of 
exercising  an  independent  jurisdiction  as   "justices  of  the 
peace,"  they  are  constantly  occupied  in  performing  the  mere 
The  sys-  duties  of  their  position  as  u  police  magistrates."     The  order 
P^SedB1?y  °f  the  Home  Office  has  gone  forth — "  the  police  must  be  pro- 
^ceHometected."     Every  street  scuffle,  therefore,  is  converted  by  the 
police  constable  into  a  charge  of  "  assault  upon  an  officer  in 
the  execution  of  his  duty."     It  has  been  averred  by  police 
magistrates,  that  their  positions  are  imperilled  if  they  do  not 
convict    and   administer   the  heaviest  penalties  upon  such 
charges.     There  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  Home  Office 
lends  a  willing  ear  to  complaints  against  magistrates  appoint- 
ed to  administer  justice,  emanating  from  policemen,  who  are 
parties  to  the  causes  in  which  justice  is  to  be  administered, 
perilous  to  Such  things  show  that  the  police  system  may  be  carried  to  an 
ofethebseuK  extent  which  is  dangerous  to  the  liberty  of  the  subject,  and 
ject.          on  t^t  ground  the  extension  of  this  force  ought  to  be  viewed 
with  the  greatest  jealousy. 


SEC.  II.]  MISCELLANEOUS  EXPENDITURE.  207 

The  expense  of  the  constabulary  in  Ireland  falls  entirely  CHAP.  IV. 
upon  these   estimates.     The  cost,  last  year,  was  777,36S£. ; 
the  number  of  men  employed,  11,868.     The  Irish  const abu- iaiy, 
lary  is  an  armed  force.     Every  constable  carries  an  Enfield  ^rcearmed 
rifle,  and  a  supply  of  ammunition.  .  They  live  in  "barracks  " 
—the  officers  are  "  mounted  and  accoutred  " — and  there  are 
charges  in  the  estimates  for  "  instructors  of  musketry,"  as  in 
the  regular  army.     Now,  if  this  constabulary  is  to  save  a  pro- 
portion of  the  cost  of  maintaining  a  military  force  in  Ireland, 
it  may  be  considered  a  desirable  substitute  for  the  large  army  superad- 
which  has  hitherto  been  maintained  in  that  part  of  the  United  Military 
Kingdom.     But  if  the  expense  of  this  large  constabulary  is  to  mentmain- 
be  superadded  to  that  of  a  large  military  force  in  Ireland,  j^ud.  m 
then  we  really  ought  to  demand  that  some  regard  should  be 
paid  to  the  altered  circumstances  of  the  sister  kingdom.    This      Altered 

-i-i.       T     -i        -i   •         i         /»  ,circum- 

constabulary  has  been  extended  in  Ireland  in  the  face  oi  stances    of 
circumstances  which  give  promise  of  the  perfect  .tranqnilliza-  kingdom?1 
tion  of  the  country.     The  population  of  Ireland,  between 
1851  and  1861,  was  largely  decreased  by  emigration.*     The 
operation  of  the  Encumbered  Estates  Act,  by  affording  op- 
portunity for  the  application  of  capital  to  the  soil  of  the 
country,  gave  greatly '  increased  employment  to  those  who 
remained.     The  consequence  -has  been  that   the  people  of  improve- 
Ireland  have  been  most,  rapidly  increasing  in  contentment  ™ndit?on  ° 
and  prosperity.     "We  have  already  seen  that  the  number  of  ™d  feelj£f 
paupers  receiving  relief  in  Ireland  diminished  from  620,000  Reopl<jimi 
in  1849,  to  59,500  in  1862.     But  a  still  more  remarkable  nution  ""Sf 
indication  of  the  contentment  of  the  people  is  shown  by  the 
fact,  that  the  number  of  offenders  committed  for  trial  in  Ire- 
land, which  amounted  to  41,989  in  1849,  was  diminished  to 
5,586  in  1861.     In  proportion  to  population,  Ireland,  at  the  and  crime, 
present  time,  exhibits  a  smaller  proportion  of  crime  than 
either  England  or  Scotland,  and  is  the  section  of  the  United 
Kingdom  in  which  crime  is  undergoing  the  most  rapid  dimi- 
nution.    In  the  face  of  such  facts  as  these,  are  we  to  maintain 


*  Between  1351  and  1861  the  emigrants   from  Ireland  numbered  upwards  of 
1,230,000  souls. 


208  TAXATION :  ITS  EXPENDITURE.  [SEC.  U. 

CHAP.  iv.  a  large  standing  army,  superaclded  to  an  armed  constabulary 
of  nearly  12,000  men,  which  forms  a  standing  army  of  itself? 
In  one  way  or  the  other,  this  777,OOOZ.  a  year  ought,  unques- 
tionably, to  be  saved  to  the  nation.* 
Cost  of     Although  crime  has  so  much  diminished  in  Ireland,  it  does 

Criminal 

prosecu-     not  appear  that  the  cost  of   criminal  prosecutions  in  that 
Ireland.  m  country  has  undergone  any  diminution.     The  criminal  busi- 
ness of  Ireland  is  directed  by  a  number  of  gentlemen  called 
"  Crown  Solicitors  ;"  and  at  a  time  when  crime  and  outrage 
were  very  rife  in  Ireland,  the  Treasury  made  very  bitter  com- 
plaints of  the  bills  of  costs  sent  in  by  these  officials,  and 
declared  its  intention  of  placing  them  upon  salaries,  with 
The  Crown  certain  allowances  for  office   expenses.      The   salaries   and 
nioredTver exPenses  were>  of  course,  fixed  at  very  high  rates,  in  propor- 
Treasurthe  ^on  *°  ^ie  -^arSe  amount  of  work  which  then  had  to  be 
executed.     The  Treasury,  however,  thought  it  had  done   a 
very  wise  and  prudent  thing.     In  one  respect,  perhaps,  the 
arrangement  was  advantageous ;    though  that  was   by   no 
means  the  respect  in  which  the  Treasury  anticipated  ndvan- 
Crimetage.     The  effect  wras — to  diminish  offences!     Being  chiefly 
paid  by  salaries,  the  Crown  Solicitors  and  other  officers  had 
no  longer  any  interest  in  getting  up  prosecutions,  and  the 
natural  result  was  that  prosecutions  diminished.     The  large 
aggregate  diminution  of  crime  in  Ireland  is,  of  course,  to  be 
attributed  to  other  and  more  general  causes,  but  the  change 
made  in  the  system  of  paying  for  Crown  prosecutions  had,  no 
doubt,  its  effect.     Whilst,  however,  trials  in  Ireland  dimin- 
but      theished,  from  nearly  42,000  in   1849,  to  5,500  in  1861, 'the 
cost  f°r  Crown  prosecutions,  in  consequence  of  the  fixed  form 
m  wnicn  ^ne7  are  now  P^d  f°r?  nas  remained  about  the  same 
as  in  1841  !     The  Treasury,  in  fact,  overreached  itself;  and 


*  In  addition  to  the  charge  for  the  Constabulary  of  Ireland,  we  are  required  to 
pay  from  the  Exchequer  the  charge  for  the  police  and  police  justices  of  the  city  of 
Dublin.  The  charge  is  an  increasing  one.  It  amounted  to  50,600Z.  in  1862  ; 
besides  37,000?.  the  proceeds  of  fees  and  fines  locally  levied  and  applied.  This 
expenditure  was  undertaken  by  the  Central  Government  at  a  time  when  it  was 
thought  necessary,  for  military  purposes,  to  maintain  a  large  police  establishment 
in  Dublin.  The  citizens  of  Dublin  ought  now  to  insist  on  making  their  police  a 
municipal  force,  and  relieving  themselves  from  this  badge  of  domination. 


SEC.  II.]  MISCELLANEOUS  EXPENDITURE.  209 

the  Crown  Solicitors  enjoy  salaries  and  allowances  varying  CHAP.  IV. 
from  700Z.  to  2,200Z.  a  year,  without  having  any  proportionate 
business   to   occupy  their  time  or  try   their  temper.     The 
Treasury  was  very  clever,  but  the  solicitors,  as  usual,  have 
proved  themselves  far  more  so. 

As  some  twenty  years  have  elapsed  since  this  arrangement  Aggregate 
was  made,  it  might  be  revised  with  advantage.     So  might  Law 
other  law  charges  in  Ireland.     The  administration  of  law,  ° 
justice,  and  police  in  Ireland,  involves  as  heavy  a  charge 
upon  the  estimates  as  its  administration  in  England ;  although 
there  is  so   great  a  disparity  between  the  two  countries  in 
population,  wealth,  and  crime — in  all  of  which  England  has 
the  prominence.     But  it  is  right  to  observe,  that  the  great 
charge  in  Ireland  is,  after  all,  for  the  constabulary — which 
is  nothing  more  than  an  army  in  disguise,  and  which  should 
be  treated  as  a  branch  of  the  army  in  dealing  with  the  ques- 
tion of  the  military  occupation  of  the  country. 

The  last  item  included  in  this  class  of  expenditure  is  for  PRISONS 
Prison  and  Convict  Services  at  home  and  abroad.  This  vote  CONVICTS. 
includes  the  following  items  : — 

Inspection  and  General  Superintendence £17,410 

Prison  and  Convict  Establishments  at  Home 350,000 

Maintenance  of  Prisoners  in  Coiinty  Gaols,  &c 227,604 

Transportation  of  Convicts 30,510 

Convict  Establishments  in  the  Colonies 142,683 

£768,207 

This  vote,  as  far  as  it  is  distinguishable,  has  increased   why  does 
about  300,OOOZ.  since  1848.     It  must  be  a  subject  of  regret  increlseT 
to  every  one,  that  the  cost  of  prisoners  and  of  convict  estab- 
lishments should  be  enhanced.  "Why  should  such  be  the  case  ? 
Education  has  improved,  society  has  improved,  increased 
measures  have  been  taken  for  the  prevention  and  repression 
of  crime,  and  yet  we  find  the  cost  of  our  prisoners  and  of 
our  convict  establishments  undergoing  an  annual  increase. 
It  is,  surely,  wrorth  inquiring,  why  this  should  be  ? 

It  is  not  an  easy  matter  to  determine  how  far  criminal    Crime  in 
offences  have  diminished  or    increased  in  this   country  of^1 

14 


210  TAXATION  :   ITS  EXPENDITURE.  [Sue.  II. 


.  recent  years.  From  1847  to  1854  the  number  of  offenders 
committed  for  trial  underwent  very  little  variation.  In  1855 
an  Act,  called  the  Criminal  Justice  Act,  was  passed,  author- 
izing justices  to  pass  sentences  for  short  periods,  with  the 
consent  of  prisoners,  instead  of*  committing  them  for  trial. 
The  consequence  ought  to  have  been  a  considerable  saving 
in  the  charge  for  the  prison  and  convict  establishments  of 
the  country.  The  number  of.  criminal  offenders  convicted 
and  sentenced  in  England  was  diminished  by  the  operation 
of  this  Act  from  23,000  in  1854  to  19,000  in  1855,  and  to 
14,700  in  1856.  The  number  has  remained  tolerably  station- 
•  ary  since  that  period,  and  was  about  14,000  in  1861. 
Our  Con  Our  mode  of  treating  offenders  has,  however,  of  recent 

Ions.  *  years  undergone  a  great  change.  In  1848,  offenders  against 
our  laws  were  mostly  subjected  to  transportation.  Our  only 
home  prisons,  at  that  time,  were  Millbank  and  Pentonville, 
with  Parkhurst  as  a  sort  of  reformatory  establishment  for 
juvenile  offenders.  But  the  colonists  having  objected  to 
receive  our  convicts,  'and  the  system  of  transportation  having 
been  proved  to  be  both  expensive  and  unsatisfactory,  we 
began  to  establish  convict  prisons  at  home.  A  large  prison 
was  formed  on  the  Isle  of  Portland,  another  in  the  middle  of 
Dartmoor,  others  at  Chatham  and  Portsmouth,  where  prison- 
ers had  previously  awaited  transportation  ;  a  prison,  chiefly 
for  invalids,  was  established  at  "Woking,  and  others  for  female 
convicts  at  Brixton  and  Fulham.* 

Transpor-  Transportation,  however,  was  not  wholly  abandoned  in 
consequence  of  these  arrangements.  Whilst  maintaining  an 
establishment  in  Tasmania,  we  also  created  one,  with  the 
consent  of  the  colonists,  in  Western  Australia  ;  and  a  number 
of  criminals  have  also  been  sent  to  work  on  fortifications  at 


*  Our  convict  prisons  must  bo  distinguished  from  county  gaols.  It  was  to  the 
system  of  the  latter  class  of  establishments  that  Lord  Carnarvon  addressed  him- 
self some  weeks  since  at  a  meeting  of  the  Hampshire  magistrates  at  Winchester. 
There  is  reason  to  apprehend  that  the  system  pursued  in  some  of  these  county 
prisons  is  anything  but  beneficial  or  effective .  For  my  own  part,  I  never  could 
understand  what  was  gained  by  putting  a  prisoner  to  hard  labour  on  a  crank. 


SEC.  II.J  MISCELLANEOUS  EXPENDITURE.  211 

Gibraltar  and  Bermuda.     The  cost  of  the  establishments  we  CHAP,  iv. 
now  maintain  in  England  is  worthy  observation  :* — 

CONVICT  ESTABLISHMENTS  (ENGLAND,)  1862.  Cost  of  our 

Convict 
Prisons   at 

PLACE.  NO.  OF  PRISONERS.  COST  Off  ESTABLISHMENT.  home. 

Brixton.... 650  ....  £19,576 

Chatham 1,100  ....  43,398 

Dartmoor 1,100  ....  44,568 

Fulham 176  ....  7,866 

Millbank 1,150  ....  34,144 

Parkhurst 200  7,285 

Pentonville 500  14,320 

Portland 1,500  ....  56,083 

Portsmouth 600  24,723 

Woking 600  ....  23,175 


7,576  £275,138 

Our   convict  establishments  in  the  Colonies  cost  as  fol-  £°i8t  °.f  1our 

Colonial 

1OWS  t —  .  „  Convict 

Prisons. 

PLACE.  NO.  OF  PRISONERS.  COST  OF  ESTABLISHMENT. 

Bermuda ' 500  ....  £35,710 

Gibraltar 800  22,742 

Tasmania 800  ....  34,000 

West  Australia 1,000  47,931 

New  South  Wales ....  110  ....  2,300 


3,210  £142,683 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  we  make  provision  at  home  and  Total  Cost 
abroad  for  nearly  11,000  convicts,  at  an  expense  of  about 
417,0002.  a  year. 

Questions  which  are  now  pending,  give  additional  interest 
to  inquiries  respecting  these  establishments,  and  the  best 
mode  of  dealing  with  our  convicts.     On  the  one  hand,  trans-  The  Trans- 
portation is  advocated  as  the  best  means  of  getting  rid  of  our  £°  JatCon- 
criminals :  whilst,  on  the  other,  it  is  argued  that,  in  conse- vict  Prison 

'  .  .  .  question. 

quence  of  the  opposition  of  the  colonists  and  other  causes, 


*  This  does  not  include  the  cost  of  the  Scotch  convict  prison  at  Perth,  or  of  the 
Irish  prisons  at  Mountjoy,  Smithfield,  and  Spike  Island.  These  prisons  bring  up 
the  total  cost  of  our  convict  prisons  to  362,000^.  a  year. 


212  TAXATION:  ITS  EXPENDITURE.  [SEC.  II. 


HAP^.  transportation  is  surrounded  with  so  many  and  such  great 
difficulties,  that  it  is  absolutely  necessary  we  should  provide 
for  our  criminals  at  home.  It  must  be  admitted  that  the 
question  is  not  an  easy  one  to  deal  with.  For  that  very 
reason,  however,  it  is  the  more  desirable  to  consider  the 
facts. 

Difficulties      To  provide  for  our  criminals  at  home  is  no  easy  task.     Un- 
Convictg   der  the  most  favourable  circumstances,  they  must  be  kept  in 
^^1Bh~at  immediate  proximity  to  a  crowded  population.     Apart  from 
home.        the  additional  provision  which  has  to  be  made  to  prevent 
Escape,   their  escape,  this  circumstance  renders  it  impossible  to  turn 
Convict  convict  labour  to  really  profitable  account.     There  is  little 
employment  to  which  convict  labour  can  be  applied  in  this 
country  without,  more  or  less,  interfering  with  the  wages  of 
labour  of  another   class.     At  Dartmoor  convict  labour  has 
been  applied  to  the  reclamation  of  waste  land  ;  at  Chatham 
to  the  drainage  of  the  marshes  on  the  borders  of  the  Thames  ; 
at  Portland  to  the  construction  of  the  breakwater,  and  at 
Portsmouth  on  public  works.     Such  labour,  probably,  could 
not  have  been  less  disadvantageously  employed  ;  and.  yet  it 
admits  of  doubt  whether  the  result  of  its  employment  may 
not  have  been  disadvantageous  to  a  portion  of  our  industrious 
population.     Nor  is  this  all.     The  object  of  imprisonment  is 
Eeforma-  twofold  —  punishment  and  reformation.     But  reformation  is 
impossible  when  you  reduce  a  man  to  the  condition  of  a  slave, 
without  prospect  either  in  the  present  or  the  future.     The 
consequence  is,  that  in  dealing  with  prisoners  at  home  it  be- 
comes necessary  to  hold  out  to  them  some  hope  of  an  im- 
provement in  their  condition  dependent  on  good  conduct. 
Tickets  of  Hence  the  ticket-of-leave  system;  which  is,  in  fact,  only  the 
•Leave*       same  system  which  was  found  necessary  in  New  South  Wales, 
but  which  is,  naturally,  productive  of  very  different  results 
when  you  turn  out  a  criminal  amid  a  small  population,  in  a 
new  country,  where  labour  of  every  sort  is  certain  to  find  its 
reward,  and  when  you  turn  him  out  to  struggle  for  his  daily 
bread  in  a  country  such  as  ours,  where  unskilled  labour  is 
superabundant,  and  where  character  is  needed  as  an  intro- 
duction to  employment. 

On  the  other  hand,  transportation  is  accompanied  with 


tion. 


SEO.  II.]  MISCELLANEOUS  EXPENDITURE.  213 

difficulties  not  less  peculiar.     The  employment  of  convicts  CHAP,  iv. 
upon  public  works,  as  in  Gibraltar  and  Bermuda,  is  in  no  Transpor- 
way  desirable.     It  entails  vast  cost,  and  can,  after  all,  only    The'diffi- 
afford  employment  for  a  very  limited  number  of  convicts.  " 

In  our  Colonies  proper,  the  residents,  except  in  "Western  Aus- 
tralia, refuse  to  receive  our  criminals.     This  difficulty  might  i  Colonial 
be  surmounted  by   selecting  spots  such   as    the  Falkland 
Islands,  and  the  unsettled  portions  of  Australia,  as  the  future 
scenes  of  transportation.     But  we  have  to  consider,  not  only 
that  in  such  places  convict  labour  could  be  turned  to  very  little 
good  account,  but  that  our  experience  of  such  settlements  has 
been  so  unfavourable  that  we  have  already  been  obliged  to 
abandon  one  settlement  (that  of  Norfolk  Island)  founded  on 
these  principles.     Besides  this,  the  cost  of  sending  convicts      Serious 
to  these  distant  settlements,  and  of  maintaining  them  there,  Transpor- 
is  really  a  most  serious  burden.     It  will  be  seen,  from  thetatlon' 
tables  above  given,  that  whilst  our  convicts,  maintained  at 
home,  cost,  on  an  average,  about  26Z.  per  head  per  annum, 
those  maintained  in  our  Colonies  cost  4:4:1.     To  this  has  to  be 
added  the  cost  of  transport.     In  1862,  the  cost  of  sending 
1,110  convicts  to  the  Colonies  (810  to  Australia  and  300  to 
Gibraltar)  was  estimated  at  30,500?.,  or  more  than  26Z.  per 
head.     The  cost  of  transport,  therefore,  is  equivalent  to  a 
year's  keep  of  a  convict  in  a  prison  at  home.     Nor  is  this  all.    Premium 
By  sending  convicts  to  Western  Australia  we  are  really  do-  Transpor- 
ing  an  injustice  (not  to  the  colonists,  who  will  profit  by  their  j^0^  ^fe~ 
industry,  but)  to  our  own  poor  and  honest  population   at 
home.     Emigration  to  one  of  our  Australian  colonies  is,  in 
the  present  state  of  the  labour  market  in  this  country,  an 
actual  boon  to  a  large  proportion  of  our  population.     On 
what  principle,  then,  can  we  send  a  criminal  to  Australia  at 
an  expense  of  26Z.,  when  the  expenditure  of  the  same  amount 
of  money  would  be  a  blessing  conferred  on  an  honest  family  ? 
To  confer  such  a  boon  upon  an  offender  is  calculated  rather 
to  promote  crime  than  to  repress  it. 

If,  then,  transportation  is  attended  with  even  greater  diffi-  What  arc 
cully  than  the  imprisonment  of  convicts  at  home,  what  are  with*0  our 
we  to  do  with  our  criminal  population,  supposing  it  requisite  Crunmals  ? 
to  maintain  the  whole  of  them  in  this  country  ?  If  crime  in- 


214  TAXATION :  ^EXPENDITURE.  [SEC.  II • 

CHAP.  iv.  creases  in  the  same  ratio  with  population,  the  maintenance 

of  the  criminal  population  of  England  will  be,  at  no  distant 

Principle  period,  an  intolerable  infliction.     The  Legislature  treated  the 

mary  Juris-  difficulty,  under  the  Act  of  1855,  by  an  endeavour  to  lighten 

adopted  by  ^ne  criminal  calendar  by  giving  summary  jurisdiction  in  the 

Parliament.  case  of  petty  offenders.     It  might  well  be  considered  whether 

Could  it  *•      •  T 

be  carried  this  principle  could  not  be  advantageously  carried  further. 
That  committals  in  this  country  are  much  too  common  is 
proved  by  the  fact,  that  in  England  and  Scotland  nearly  one- 
third,  and  in  Ireland  nearly  one-half,  of  the  offenders  sent 

Verdicts  of  for  trial,  receive  verdicts  of  acquittal  !*  -The  fact  remarkably 
illustrates  what  has  been  before  observed  as  to  the  tendency 
which  exists  under  our  police  system  to  get  up  paltry  cases. 
Such  a  system  does  infinite  injury,  not  only  from  the  wrong 
inflicted  on  the  person  falsely  accused,  but  from  the  sympathy 
which  is  naturally  excited  against  prosecutors  both  in  the 
minds  of  juries  and  of  the  public. 

Treatment     It  is  a  reflection  upon  our  Home  Department,  that  instead 

charges!  7of  measures  tending  to  repress  crime,  its  whole  policy  of  late 
years  has  rather  tended  to  the  encouragement  of  unfounded  and 
petty  accusations.  Long  ere  this  the  statute  law  of  England 


*  The  tendency  to  committal  which  prevails  amongst  the  magistracy  in  some 
parts  of  the  kingdom,  really  ought  to  receive  some  check.  A  gentleman  who  hap- 
pened to  be  present  at  a  petty  sessions  at  some  little  distance  from  London,  a  few 
weeks  since,  narrated  to  me  the  following  facts : — There  was  a  full  bench  of  magis- 
trates to  hear  police  charges  against  two  prisoners.  The  first  was  "a Navvy," 
who  had  been  found  begging  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  who  stated  that  he  was 
on  his  way  home  from  some  place  at  which  he  had  had  employment.  He  had  been 
detained  in  the  police  cells  two  days,  and,  in  consideration  of  that  fact,  the  bench 
decided  on  dismissing  him  with  a  caution ;  although  some  of  them  pressed  that  he 
ought  to  be  committed  and  punished  as  a  vagabond.  The  second  charge  was 
against  a  young  man,  apparently  a  mechanic,  for  not  paying  a  fine.  He  had  been 
charged,  at  a  previous  petty  session,  with  disturbing  the  peace  of  the  town,  by 
blowing  a  brass  trumpet  in  the  streets  on  a  Christmas  evening.  For  this  offence 
against  a  bye-law  of  a  local  act,  the  magistrates  had  fined  him  Is.  and  costs,  which 
amounted  to  6s.  .or  7s.  more  !  This  amount  the  prisoner  declared  he  could  not,  and 
would  not,  pay;  he  preferred,  he  said,  to  "work  it  out,"  and  the  magistrates 
accordingly  sent  him  to  the  county  gaol  to  expiate  his  sentence  at  the  cost  of 
his  country.  Probably  the  society  into  which  he  would  fall  there  would  make 
this  young  man  a  criminal  for  life,  and  a  perpetual  charge  to  the  nation, 
which  thus  punished  him  for  blowing  "  a  noisy  instrument"  on  a  Christmas  eve- 
ning. 


SEC.  II.]  MISCELLANEOUS  EXPENDITURE.  215 

ought  to  have  been  amended  as  regards  what  is  commonly  CH\P.  IY. 
called  felony.  Whilst  we  have  mitigated  the  penalties  for 
the  offences  classified  as  felony,  our  criminal  law  still  treats  ltJFeionies" 
as  felony  a  vast  number  of  offences  of  a  comparatively  trivial 
character.  A  mitigation  of  the  rigour  of  the  law,  in  certain 
cases,  would  relieve  our  judges  of  the  necessity  of  sending 
many  culprits  to  our  convict  prisons ;  and  it  might  also  admit 
of  consideration  whether  the  imposition  of  other  penalties 
might  not  save  many  small  offenders  from  the  life-long 
degradation  to  which  imprisonment  exposes  them,  and  at  the 
same  time  save  the  State  from  the  cost  at  present  entailed  on 
it  by  the  infliction  of  a  punishment  which  abases  moral 
feeling.* 

Above  all  these,  there  is,  however,  another  means  of  check-    The  best 
ing  crime,  which  ought  ever  to  be  kept  in  view  by  those  who  checking 
govern  our  nation.     Had  it  not  been  for  the  introduction  of cr 
manufactures  into  this  country  in  the  latter  portion  of  the 
last  century,  it  cannot  be  questioned  that  the  condition  of 
the  people  of  England  and  Scotland  at  the  present  time 
would  have  been  one  of  the  most  severe  depression.     The 
population  would  have  outstripped  the  demand  for  labour, 
wages  would  not  have  kept  pace  with  the  price  of  food,  and 
the  consequence  would  have  been  great  misery.     The  inven- 
tions of  Arkwright,  Watt,  and  Stephenson  have  made  Eng- 
land  what   she  is.     Still  we  have  superabundant  labour. 
What  we  really  want,  in  order  to  check  crime,  is  more  occu-  occupation 
pation  for  our  industry.     We  have  already  seen  that  the  dustry6  "of 
financial  measures  of  Sir  Kobert  Peel  did  afford  the  people 
increased  occupation,  and  we  are  all  conscious  that  with  that 
increased  occupation  the  people  became  more  contented,  and 


*  In  an  able  letter  sent  to  me  by  a  constituent,  as  these  pages  are  passing 

"„ through  the  press,  it  is  well  observed — "Founded  partly  on  ancient  customs,  on 

"  the  practice  of  different  nations,  on  common  and  on  statute  law,  our  criminal 

'  code  is  a  mass  of  confusion.    The  Saxon  element  of  money  compensation  for 

*  every  crime  is  intermingled  with  the  Roman  idea  of  proportionate  punishment. 

'  But  the  money  fines  and  the  punishments  that  are  imposed  no  longer  represent 

'  the  intentions  of  the  legislature.    This  complete  hodge-podge  should  be  swept 

'  away,  and  the  subject  be  considered  anew  ;  in  accordance  with  the  change  in 

'the  circumstances,  manners,  and  habits  of  the  population." 


216  TAXATION:  ITS  EXPENDITUKE.  [SEC.  II. 


that  of  late  years  there  has  been  great  improvement  in  their 
tone  and  temper.  We  have  seen  also,  in  the  case  of  Ireland, 
that  the  moment  the  people  of  that  country  obtained  employ- 
ment, crime  of  every  sort  diminished  largely.  We  may 
anticipate  that  the  same  results  will  follow  here,  if  by  an 
This  result  improved  administration  of  our  fiscal  laws  we  can  extend  the 

inconsist- 

ent with  occupations  and  comforts  of  the  population.  This  great 
atlon  and  result,  is  not,  however,  to  be  attained,  so  long  as  we  persist 
gantava~ex-  ^n  tne  ^evJ  °^  taxation  on  bad  principles,  and  in  extravagant 
penditure.  expenditure  on  useless  objects. 

CLASS  iv  ,  CLASS  I  Y.  —  Education,  Science,  and  Art. 

The  estimate  under  this  head  is  a  million  and  a  half,  of 
The  vote  which  the  greater  proportion  —  upwards  of  1,100,000?.  —  is  for 
tlon,          "-Public  Education  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland." 
reasonable      Contrasting  the  total  under  this  estimate  with  the  amounts 
in  amount.  of  ^  estimates  for  the  Army,  the  Navy,  or  for  Law  and 
Justice,  it  can  scarcely  be  thought  that  the  whole  sum  is  too 
great  for  the  objects  of  Education,  Art,  and  Science.     The 
main  question  which  presents  itself  relates,  however,  to  the 
policy  of  public  votes  for  education  as  they  affect  the  free 
But  is  it  contributions  of  the  nation.     Is  it  necessary  or  desirable  for 
^Q  support  of  our  schools,  that  they  should  be  brought  under 
central  control  by  means   of  capitation   grants  ?      I  have 
always  argued  to  the  contrary;    and,  unquestionably,  the 
mode  in  which  these  votes  were  at  one  period  almost  exclu- 
sively applied  —  in  proportion  to  the  amounts  raised  by  local 
contributions  —  left    the   poorer   portion   of  the  population 
without  their  fair  share  of  the  public  money,  whilst  it  relieved 
the  wealthier  parishes  and  districts  of  what  might  be  regarded 
as  their  fair  share  of  contribution. 

The  much-vexed  question  of  Education  is,  however,  scarcely 
a  subject  for  a  work  professing  to  treat  merely  of  Finance  ; 
for  here  we  are  dealing  with  the  amounts  expended  rather 
than  with  the  principles  on  which  the  expenditure  is  voted. 
If  the  principle  is  wrong,  any  amount  of  money  is  wrongly 
spent  ;  if  the  principle  is  right,  we  can  scarcely  grudge  any 


SEO.  II.]  MISCELLANEOUS   EXPENDITURE.  217 

amount  of  money  that  can  be  fairly  afforded  for  the  object.  CHAP.  IV- 
I  question  the  principle,  but  the  House  of  Commons  supports 
it.     So  long  as  the  House  of  Commons  supports  the  principle, 
the  amount  at  present  voted  is  not  to  be  objected  to  on  the 
ground  of  extravagance. 

That  which  is  to  be  apprehended,  with  regard  to  votes  of  ten£f^ceyrtao1 
this  sort,  is  the  general  tendency  to  increased  expenditure  increased 
which  pervades  all  the  estimates  proposed  by  our  Govern-  " 

ment.  Since  1848,  the  amounts  voted  under  this  head  have 
increased  from  397,5202.  to  1,410,1142.  The  following  are 
some  of  the  items  on  which  this  increased  expenditure  has 
accrued : — 

OBJECTS.  1848.  1862. 

Public  Education,  Great  Britain, £125,000  . .  £842,119 

Ditto                  Ireland 120,000  ..  290,904 

Schools  of  Design  (now  called  Science). .  10,000  . .  116,695 

University  of  London 4,178  ..  5,473 

Universities,  Scotland 7,480  . .  20,161 

Eoyal  Irish  Academy 800  ..  500 

British  Museum  (exclusive  of  buildings)  48,445  . .  99,012 

National  Gallery ....: 1,500  ..  11,953 

Much  might  be  observed  upon  each  of  these  items  ;   espe-    Grants  to 
cially  upon  the  grants  to  the  Universities,  which  were  strongly  ti£s.ve 
condemned  by  the  Committee  of  1818  as  altogether  wrong 
in  principle  and  practice.     These  votes,  as  wTell  as  the  large 
additions  to  the  grants  to  the  British  Museum,  the  National 
Gallery,  and  kindred  institutions,  have  not,  however,  escaped 
the  attention  of  the  House  of  Commons,  when  the  estimates 
have  been  discussed,  and,  therefore,  it  is  the  less  needful  to 
consider  them   here.     That  which   we   have  most  to  dread 
is,  increase  of  this  expenditure.     The  Schools  of  Science  and      schools 
Art,  very  valuable  institutions  in  themselves,  have,  it  will  be  J 
observed,  rapidly  increased  in  cost  from  10,0002.  to  more  than 
ten  times  ten  thousand  pounds.     Expenditure  of  this  sort 
should  have  a  limit.     It  is  too  much  to  be  feared  that,  under 
its  cover,  many  a  job  is  perpetrated ;  and  whilst  it  is  for  the 
national  interest  not  to  be  sparing  in  extending  scientific 
knowledge  and  a  taste  for  art,  we  ought  to  bear  in  mind  that 
the  inculcation  of  correct  taste  is  in  no  way  dependent  upon 
lavish  expenditure. 


218  TAXATION:  ITS  EXPENDITUKE.  [SEC.  II. 

CHAP.  IV. 

CLASS  v.         CLASS  Y. — Colonial,  Consular ',  and  Foreign  Services. 


Charges     These  services  were  charged  : — 

incurred 

-„• 

1838 £352,135 

1843 406,836 

1848 426,367 

1862 937,400 

Here,  again,  is  an  excessive  and  disproportionate  increase. 
It  occurs  principally  in  paying  the  expenses  of  our  governors, 

Sal  Colo"tne^r  secretaries,  and  other  officers  of  their  staff,  in  the  West 
Indies,  for  whom  the  Colonial  legislatures  have  refused  to 
make  provision.  There  may  be  sound  political  reasons  for 
paying  these  officers,  though  such  reasons  cannot  apply  to 
increasing  their  stipends.  Neither  can  they  apply  to  the 
increasing  amounts  charged  in  these  estimates  for  other 
items.  There  are  great  increases  under  the  head  of  Kaffir 

Consular,  and  Chinese  Wars  ;  salaries  and  expenses  of  consuls  abroad  ; 
new  establishments  of  consuls,  &c.,  in  China,  Japan,  and 

and    For-  Siam ;  and  for  the  expenditure  for  postages,  telegraphs,  and 

vices.  couriers  incurred  by  our  ambassadors  at  foreign  courts.  To 
enter  into  details  would  be  fruitless.  That  which  we  have 
to  make  provision  against  here,  as  elsewhere,  is  the  general 
tendency  to  needless  increase  which  appears  in  almost  every 
item. 
The  Emi-  An  item  which  occurs  under  this  head  of  10,800£.  a  year, 

Soard?  f°r  the  cost  of  what  we  designate  an  "  Emigration  Board," 
calls,  however,  for  an  observation.  Some  years  ago,  when 
emigration  from  England  and  Ireland  was  at  its  height,  a 
number  of  clerks  in  the  Colonial  Office  were  appointed 
"  Commissioners,"  at  high  salaries,  to  superintend  the  emigra- 
tion from  the  United  Kingdom.  At  that  time  arrangements 
were  in  existence  by  which  the  cost  of  emigration  was 
defrayed,  partly  by  voluntary  contributions,  partly  by  the 
Colonies,  partly  by  Government  assistance.  Since  the  gold 
discoveries  in  Australia  all  this  has  been  altered.  The  Aus- 
tralian colonists  choose  to  send  their  own  officers  to  this 


SEC.  II.]  MISCELLANEOUS  EXPENDITUEE.  219 

country  to  superintend  the  emigration  of  our  labouring  CHAP.  iv. 
population  to  their  shores.  The  duties  of  the  Emigration 
Board  are,  consequently,  much  contracted.  Under  a  revised 
system,  the  present  Commissioners  might  be  relieved  of  their 
duties,  and  a  large  proportion  of  the  expenditure  on  their 
establishment  (always  obstructive,  and  too  often  offensive) 
might,  advantageously,  be  saved  to  the  country. 

CLASS  YI. — Superannuation  and  Retired  Allowances,     •  CLASS  vi. 
Charities,  c&c. 


1848 

1852 

1862  ..........................................    338,896 

A  steady  reduction  from  1838  to  1848  —  a  rapid  increase     The  in- 
from  1848  to  1862. 

The  increase  which  occurs  under  this  head  is  due  to  the  °.f  Pen~ 
extension  of  our  establishments.  If  there  are  more  officers, 
it  follows  as  a  matter  of  necessity  that,  in  the  course  of  time,  a  conse- 
there  must  be  more  pensions  and  superannuations.  Although  theence  in- 
such  claim  for  a  pension  or  superannuation  is  submitted  to 
the  determination  of  the  Treasury,  there  is  too  much  reason 
to  fear  that  many  of  these  items  entail  needless  charges  on 
the  country.  The  Miscellaneous  Estimates  Committee  ofTheremon- 
1848  called  particular  attention  to  the  number  of  cases  i 
which  "  compensations  were  granted  for  abolition  of  offices, 
"  and  superannuations  to  persons  on  account  of  ill-health 
"  very  early  ages."  "  In.  all  such  cases,"  they  said,  "  the 
"  economy  of  the  public  service  requires  that  the  persons  so 
"  relieved  from  duty  on  pension,  should  be  restored  to  the 
"  public  service  on  the  first  opportunity  of  vacancy  in  the 
"  first  case,  and  of  re-established  health  in  the  second. 
"  It  frequently  happens  that  a  person  whose  health  has 
"  broken  down,  under  forty  or  fifty  years  of  age,  by  severe 
"  service,  is  restored  by  rest  and  leisure,  and  he  lives  a  long 
"  life  upon  an  annuity,  whereas  the  public  are  entitled  to  his 
"  service."  The  Committee  did  not  venture  to  add  that 
which  is  the  fact,  that  it  is  the  system  of  Government 


220  TAXATION:  ITS  EXPENDITURE.  [SEC.  H. 


AP^IV.  patronage  which  prevents  the  re-appointment  of  such  indi- 
Patronage.  viduals.  In  a  number  of  these  cases  we  keep  two  officers  to 
do  the  work  of  one,  in  order  that  the  Government  of  the  day 
may  have  the  advantage  of  appointing  the  second.  Accord- 
ingly, the  pension^  and  superannuations  are  usually  the  largest 
in  amount  and  in  increase  in  the  best-paid  departments.  In 
the  Treasury,  the  Colonial  Office,  and  amongst  the  British 
consuls  abroad,  we  find  a  continual  tendency  to  retire  upon 
superannuations  —  which  appear  to  be  obtained  with  compa- 
rative facility. 

nuSatiPonsn~     ^e  sa^ar^es  °^  our  higher  public  departments  are  so  liberal 

Brovid  dbe  ^at  every  on^cer  and  clerk  has  sufficient  means  for  making 

forV1by   a  proper  provision  for  infirmity  and  old  age.     In  the  lower  de- 

age  orMsai-  partments  of  the  Government,  the  Customs,  Inland  Revenue, 

&Q.J  great  credit  is  taken  by  those  who  preside  over  the  offices 

for  the  increasing  extent  to  which  the  subordinates  are  in- 

duced to  contribute  to  insurance  institutions  and  provident 

establishments,  some  of  which  have  been  expressly  established 

for  their  benefit.     But  in  the  higher  departments,  where  the 

patronage  is  more  valuable,  inducements  are  held  out  to  re- 

tire from  the  service  upon  superannuation  allowances,  rather 

than   upon   self-made   provisions.     The  principle   of  these 

allowances  and  pensions  is  altogether  wrong.     Pensions  and 

allowances   should   be  reserved   for  real  cases  of  suffering 

and  hardship.     There  is  no  reason  why  a  body  of  officers, 

because   they   have   once   received    public   salaries,   should 

throughout  the  rest  of  their  lives  be  supported  at  the  public 

cost.     If  there  are  to  be  these  superannuations,  they  should,  at 

least,  be  provided  for  by  a  per-centage  reduction  from  stipends. 

Our  na-     There  are  some  votes  under  this  head  of  charge  which 

tional  cha-    i  -i  •, 

jities.  show  the  tendency  of  grants  for  temporary  objects  to  become 
and  remain  permanent  charges  on  the  revenue.  Who  would 
believe  that  we  were  still  voting  money  for  "  losses  sustained 
in  the  British  service  during  the  war  of  independence  in 
America,"  (granted  1788,)  for  "  Toulouse  and  Corsican  emi- 
grants," (granted  1794  and  1797,)  "  for  sufferers  in  conse- 
quence of  the  evacuation  of  St.  Domingo,"  (1798,)  for  uthe 
relief  of  Spanish  subjects  who  rendered  service  to  this  coun- 
try during  our  military  operations  in  Spain,"  (1808,)  or  even 


SEC.  II.]  MISCELLANEOUS  EXPENDITUKE.  221 

for  "  the  relief  of  Polish  refugees  and  distressed  Spaniards,"  CHAP.  iv. 
(1831  and  1834?)  "These  charges,"  it  is  observed  in  the 
estimates,  "  are  in  the  course  of  gradual  diminution."  As- 
suredly they  ought  to  be  so ;  but  we  can  scarcely  expect 
them  to  disappear  from  the  estimates  so  long  as  a  public  offi- 
cer is  expressly  salaried  "  for  attending  to  the  distribution  of 
these  moneys." 

These  are  small  items  ;  and  so  are  a  number  of  grants  in  TheDublin 
the  same  class  to  various  charitable  institutions  in  the  City  hosPltals- 
of  Dublin — to  its  Fever  Hospital,  Lying-in  Hospital,  Lock 
Hospital,  Ophthalmic  Hospital,  House  of  Industry,  &c.     So        These 
long  back  as  1842,  the  Lord  Lieutenant  of  Ireland  called  |™nse<[on~ 
attention  to  these  grants.     "His  Excellency  sees  charities t 
"  partially,  mainly,  and,  in  some  instances,  entirely  supported  ^ 
"  by  public  grants,  whilst  no  such  support  is  given  to  similar  in  1842, 
"  institutions  in  other  parts  of  the  Empire.     "When  these 
"  grants  were  originally  made,  peculiar  circumstances  may 
"  have  operated  which  did  not  apply  elsewhere.     His  Excel- 
"  lency  desires  to   satisfy  himself  to   what   extent   circurn- 
"  stances   justify  the   continuance  of  such  grants  .  ,  .  for 
"  there  can  be  no  question  that  public  grants,  injudiciously 
"  bestowed,  have  a  tendency  to  check  private  benevolence." 
The  Committee  of  1848  reported  that  "these  contributions  and  by  the 
"  to  private  charities  were  quite  foreign  to  the  proper  appli- Ous    Eati- 
"  cation   of  public   funds,  without  tending  to   any  public  mfttYe00™? 
"  utility."     These  opinions  were  expressed  at  periods  when 1848- 
economy  in  the  public  expenditure  was  an  object  with  the 
Government  of  the  day  ;  but  although  so  many  years  have 
elapsed  since  these  condemnations  of  their  principle,  these 
items  still  remain  annual  charges  on  the  public  estimates. 

"From  the  consideration  we  have  been  able  to  give  to      General 
"these  estimates,"  reported  the  Committee  of  1848,  uwe 
"  are  convinced  that  a  large  reduction  only  can  be  made  by 
"  Parliament  deciding  on  some  great  principle  of  relief  to  the  with  these 
"  public  purse  from  certain  charges,  and  afterwards  urging es 
"  on  the  executive  a  minute  and  constant  supervision  of 
"  those  that  remain."     This  observation  remains  as  applica- 
ble in  1863  as  it  was  at  the  time  it  was  made. 


CHAPTEE    Y. 

THE    NATIONAL    DEBT. 

CHAP.  V.  PERHAPS  the  greatest  of  all  the  reflections  that  can  be  cast 
OuTdebt  11POT1  ^ne  British  system  of  finance,  is  that  whilst  the  earlier 
portion  of  the  present  century  witnessed  such  immense  addi- 
tions to  our  National  Debt,  the  later  period,  during  which 
the  nation  has  so  wonderfully  increased  in  wealth,  has  not 
seen  any  well-directed  effort  to  reduce  it. 

to  be  less     I  am  not  about  to  complain  of  the  burden  of  the  debt. 

^burden*18  Little  more  than  a  hundred  years  ago,  when  the  debt  scarcely 
amounted  to  Eighty  Millions,  and  the  annual  interest  to  only 
about  3,000,000^.,  Lord  Bolingbroke  spoke  of  the  debt  as 
reflecting  on  the  dignity  of  the  nation,  lessening  her  respect 
abroad,  and  exposing  her  to  injuries,  and  even  affronts,  on 
the  part  of  her  neighbours.  Just  a  century  since,  Mr. 
Hume,  the  historian,  described  the  ruinous  effects  of  the  debt 
as  "  threatening  the  very  existence  of  the  nation."  But  such 
has  been  the  wonderful  increase  of  wealth  in  England,  that 
we  can  now  bear  a  debt  not  of  Eighty,  but  of  Eight  Hundred 
Millions,*  and  an  annual  burden,  in  the  form  of  interest,  of 
Twenty-six  Millions  instead  of  Three  Millions !  The  country 

than  as  a  can  and  does  bear  this  burden.     Looking  at  our  wealth,  there 

reflection,  is  not  the  smallest  reason  for  thinking  that  the  debt,  vast  as 
its  amount  appears,  is  too  great  even  for  redemption,  if 
necessity  required.  The  question,  however,  which  seems 
most  forcibly  to  present  itself,  is  whether,  considering  the 


*  The  exact  amount  of  the  National  Debt  in  1861,  waa  799,949,807?. 


SBO.  II.]  THE  NATIONAL  DEBT.  223 

circumstances  of  the  nation,  we  ought  not  to  do  more  than  CHAP.  v. 
has  hitherto  been  attempted,  with  a  view  to  redeem  it. 

It  is  lamentable  to  contrast  the  spendthrift  manner  in  Contrast 
which,  during  the  years  of  war,  from  1793  to  1816,  we  went  the  lavish 
on  annually  adding  millions  per  annum  to  our  debt,  with  the  JJ{cij_  ^ 
comparatively  paltry  sums  which,  during  the  years  of  peace, 


from  1817  to  1853,  we  appropriated  to  its  redemption.     The  and      the 
general  result  may  be  gathered  from  the  fact,  that  whilst  at  made  to  re- 
the  outbreak  of  the  war  in  1793,  the  annual  interest  payable  e 
on  the  debt  was  less  than  9,500,OOOZ.,  it  rose  in  1813  to 
28,000,0002.  ;    in  1853,  it  was  27,805,OOOZ.  ;    and  in  1859, 
28,300,0002.     In  consequence  of  the  falling-in  of  the  Termin- 
able Annuities  in  18GO,  the  interest  fell  to  26,000,0002.  in 
1861  ;  but  the  decrease  of  the  amount  we  had  to  pay  was 
owing  to  the  form  in  which  that  portion  of  the  debt  was  con- 
tracted, rather  than  to  any  measures  taken  by  ourselves  with 
a  view  to  reduce  the  national  liability. 

It  may  not  be  altogether  unprofitable  to  inquire  into  the       Causes 
causes  which  may  have  prevented  our  applying  ourselves,  haveh  pre- 
for  a  period  approaching  half  a  century,  to  the  reduction  of  ^^    at 
at  least  some  portion  of  the  liability  incurred  during  ther.edemP- 
quarter  of  a  century  preceding.     These  causes  are  to  be 
found  — 

First,  in  the  fact  that  our  levy  of  taxation,  in  consequence      i.  The 
of  the  war,  had  become  so  burdensome  upon  the  people,  war^axa- 
and  so  restrictive   upon  trade,   as  to   make   it   a  primary  tion- 
necessity  to  reduce  its  amount,  and  improve  its  character  :  — 

Second,  in  the  fact  that  the  expenditure  of  the  nation  has      2-  ,The 

7  -1  non-re  duc- 

at no  time  been  reduced  within  such  limits  as  would  leave  a  tion  of  ex- 
fair  proportion  of  revenue  applicable  to  the  object. 

The  finances  of  a  nation  rest  on  the  same  principles,  and  individual 
are  governed  by  the  same  rules,   as   the  finances   of  an  ai  expendi- 
in  dividual.     If  a  man  contracts  debts  in  order  to  disport111 
himself  abroad,  and  finds  that,  in  consequence  of   raising 
money  under  disadvantageous  circumstances,  his  estate  be- 
comes disordered  at  home,  his  first  business,  on  returning 
into  residence,  must  be  to  endeavour  to  improve  his  property. 
And  when  he  has  improved  it,  if  he  continues  to  live  up  to 
his  income,  however  much  improved,  it  is  quite  clear  that  he 


224  TAXATION:  ITS  EXPENDITURE.  [SEC.  II. 


>  can  ^°  1-title  or  n°thing  to  pay  off  the  principal  of  his  debt. 
In  the  same  manner  with  a  nation  :  if  it  enters  into  foreign 
wars,  and  has  to  raise  money  from  its  people  by  extra  taxes 
in  order  to  defray  the  cost,  its  first  effort,  on  the  restoration 
of  peace,  must  be  to  relieve  the  people  from  the  burden  of 
that  additional  taxation.  And,  when  that  is  effected,  if  the 
nation  continues  to  maintain  an  establishment  equal  to  its 
income,  it  is  quite  clear  that  it  can  do  little  or  nothing  to  pay 
off  the  principal  of  its  debt. 

Why  we  Just  so  it  has  been  with  us.  For  twenty-five  years  after 
paid  our  the  cessation  of  the  war,  we  were  endeavouring  to  throw  off 
the  burden  of  the  additional  taxes  the  war  had  imposed  upon 
us.  Very  tedious  was  the  process  —  very  unwilling  were  our 
rulers  in  those  days  even  to  remit  a  single  item  of  taxation. 
In  1842,  just  a  quarter  of  a  century  after  the  war  ceased,  Sir 
Robert  Peel  commenced,  in  a  larger  and  more  enlightened 
spirit,  those  still  greater  improvements  of  the  levy  of  taxa- 
tion, which  unfettered  trade,  and  gave  scope  for  the  extension 
of  the  commerce  of  the  kingdom.  Then,  when  our  income 
began  to  grow,  we  might  have  thought  of  paying  off  some 
portion  of  our  debt  ;  but,  in  the  true  spirit  of  spendthrifts, 
those  to  whom  Sir  Robert  Peel  surrendered  the  government 
of  the  nation,  have  appeared  to  see  nothing  in  its  increased 
resources  but  the  means  of  maintaining  increased  establish- 
.  ments;  —  and  so  we  have  gone  on,  year  after  year,  without  a 
sensible  effort  to  pay  our  creditors,  or  to  reduce  the  burden 
which  the  interest  imposes  on  our  revenue. 

Our  pre-  Our  debt,  as  before  observed,  is  not  beyond  our  present 
means.  No  thanks  for  that  to  those  under  whom  it  was  con- 
tracted :  —  no  thanks  for  that  to  those  who  have  allowed  the 
accumulation  to  remain  without  an  effort  at  reduction.  It  is 
the  progress  of  our  industry  of  recent  years  that  has  enabled 

pa«t,  us  to  bear  the  burden.  Even  thirty  years  ago,  it  could  by 
no  means  be  said  that  the  debt  was  within  our  means.  Sup- 
posing that  the  events  which  occurred  on  the  Continent  of 
Europe  in  1830  had  plunged  Great  Britain  into  an  European 
war,  our  heavy  debt  at  that  time  must  have  been  a  serious 
shackle  on  the  nation.  And  having  improved  so  materially, 
since  that  time,  in  every  element  of  national  wealth,  now 


SEC.  II.]  THE  NATIONAL  DEBT.  225 

that  we  are  at  peace,  and  in  a  condition  of  unprecedented  CHAP.  v. 
prosperity,  it  is  peculiarly  proper  that  we  should  look  in  and  future 
advance,  and  endeavour,  if  possible,  to  realize  what  might  be^ar7  the 
the  effect  of  this  debt,  in  the  event  of  our  having  to  encounter  debt- 
calamities  hereafter. 

Whenever  war  may  occur  in  future,  it  is  quite  certain,       1^rh^t 

J  'would    fce 

from  the  improvements  in  science,  that  the  struggle  must  be  the  cffectof 

„  .  .  .   this  debt  in 

far  more  costly  than  on  any  previous  occasion.     Our  expen-the    event 
ence  of  the  Crimean  War  partly  taught  us  this;  and  theofwar1 
enormous  expenses  which  have  been  entailed  upon  both  the 
Federal  and  the  Confederate  States  by  the  unhappy  war  now 
raging  in  America,  may  serve  still  more  completely  to  con- 
vince  us.     The   financial   operations  of  Mr.   Gladstone    in    Impossi- 
1854-5,  established  the  fact  that  it  was  futile  to  attempt  to  levying 
impose  the  entire  burden  of  a  war  in  the  form  of  a  levy  of  J^war ex- 
taxation  from  the  people.     A  large  proportion  of  the  increased  Pendlture- 
burden  necessary  for  any  future  war  must,  therefore,  be  raised 
in  the  form  of  addition  to  our  debt. 

Now,  under  such  circumstances  as  those,  what  will  be  the       Disad- 

vantage  at 

effect  of  our  existing  debt  ?  In  the  first  place,  it  will  compel  which  the 
us  to  contract  our  new  debts  at  considerable  disadvantage,  place  ua  in 
When  an  individual  wants  money,  the  creditor  to  whom  he 
applies  for  a  loan  considers  carefully,  not  merely  the  means 
which  that  individual  has  of  making  repayment,  but  the  ex- 
tent to  which  his  estate  is  already  encumbered,  and  the 
consequent  probabilities  which  there  are  of  his  being  able  to 
keep  up  the  rate  of  interest  or  repaying  the  principal.  And 
so  the  national  creditor  will  be  disposed  to  lend  less,  and  to 
require  a  larger  interest  for  what  he  lends,  in  proportion  as 
he  finds  the  national  revenue  encumbered.  Nor  is  this  all. 
The  Eight  Hundred  Millions  already  raised  in  the  form  of 
loans  from  the  people,  and  expended  in  materials  of  wrar 
which  have  for  ever  perished,  is  so  much  subtracted  from  the 
augmenting  capital  which  the  people  would  have  to  lend,  had 
that  amount  been  in  their  hands  and  invested  in  carrying  on 
some  business  at  an  ordinary  rate  of  profit.  The  State,  there- 
fore, would  go  into  the  market  as  a  borrower,  not  only  at  the 
disadvantage  of  having  to  pay  increased  interest  for  the  sum 

15 


226  TAXATION :  ITS  EXPENDITURE.  [SEC.    II. 

CHAP.  v.  it  wanted,  but  also  at  the  disadvantage  of  having  to  borrow 

from  those  whose  means  of  lending  were  reduced. 
Disad-     Inasmuch  as  future  wars  are  likely  to  be  very  much  more 
which  the  expensive  than  any  in  which  nations  have  hitherto  been  en- 
pfaceWusUinga&edj  i*  follows  that  the  power  of  raising  money  to  meet  the 
making      expenses  of  such  wars,  will  be  not  only  of  increased  impor- 
tance to  the  nations  which  engage  in  them,  but  will  give  to 
the  nation  which  can  provide  the  most  money  the  greatest 
prospect  of  success.     On  this  ground,  it  seems  of  the  highest 
importance  that  England  should  be  in  a  position  to  engage  in 
war  with  her  pecuniary  resources  as  much  as  possible  unfet- 
tered.    This  they  can  scarcely  be  said  to  be,  whilst  we  have 
a  debt  of  Eight  Hundred  Millions  to  redeem.  '  There  must 
be  a  limit  somewhere  to  taxation:  if  carried  beyond  that 
limit,  (as  occurred  during  the  long  war,  when .  the  taxation 
which   was   imposed   operated  as  a  fetter  upon  trade,  and 
and       in  industry,)   national  decay  must   follow.     If,   therefore,    we 
peace?g      commence  a  war  with  a  debt  of  800,000,000?.,  and  run  up 
that  debt  with  rapidity,  until  it  reaches  a  point  at  which  we 
begin  to  feel  that  the  taxation  necessary  to  defray  the  interest 
and  the  expenses  of  the  war,  is  a  burden  upon  the  trade  and 
industry  of  the  nation,  either  we  shall  be  exposed  to  the 
necessity  of  concluding  a  disadvantageous  peace,  or  else  we 
shall  reduce  the  people  and  the  nation  to  a  state  of  the  most 
direful  distress. 

Conse-  Notwithstanding  all  our  present  prosperity  and  future 
Srabiiitde"  ProsPects?  ^  would,  therefore,  be  only  proper  that  we  should 
of  reducing  make  a  provident  provision  for  the  future,  by  reducing  at 
least  some  portion  of  the  debt  that  has  been  incurred.  Pro- 
vidence has  blessed  this  country  with  great  prosperity,  but 
we  know  not  what  "to-morrow  may  bring  forth."  The 
greater  our  present  happiness,  the  more  intense  would  be  the 
suffering  which  calamity  would  inflict  upon  us.  It  ought  to 
be  a  duty  with  us  to  make  provision  against  an  evil  hour ; 
and  most  persons  will  admit  that  there  is  no  means  of  doing 
this,  with  so  much  present  and  future  advantage,  as  by  re- 
deeming some  portion  of  that  debt  which,  in  that  evil  hour, 
might  be  so  great  a  weight  upon  us. 

There  are  means^of  doing  this,  besides  and  independently 


SEC.!!.]  THE  NATIONAL  DEBT.  227 

of  the  present  payment  of  the  whole  amount.  Financiers,  CHAPPY. 
long  since,  have  considered  and  explained  the  modes  in  which  Modes  of 
large  portions  of  the  debt,  which  is  now  a  permanent  debt,  piisMng 
might  be  converted  into  a  terminable  debt.  All  the  various thlsobjec 
modes  are  also  known  to  them  by  which  the  interest  upon 
the  debt  may  be  reduced  in  periods  of  prosperity,  so  as  to 
afford  the  opportunity  of  paying  off  portions  of  the  principal. 
The  mode  in  which  the  French,  on  a  recent  occasion,  raised 
a  public  loan  by  subscription  from  every  class  of  the  people 
of  that  country,  might  also  teach  us  a  lesson  with  respect  to 
our  debt.  It  is  obvious,  that  the  more  money  which  the 
people  can  be  brought  to  subscribe  in  the  form  of  capital,  the 
cheaper  will  be  the  use  of  that  capital  to  those  who  desire  to 
employ  it.  By  familiarizing  the  Funds  to  the  people,  and 
facilitating  the  investment,  transfer,  and  withdrawals  of  their 
monies,  and  the  payment  and  receipt  of  dividends,  it  is  pro- 
bable that  this  nation  might  find  so  large  an  additional 
amount  of  capital  attracted  td  the  Public  Securities,  as  ulti- 
mately to  afford  the  Opportunity  of  reducing  the  interest, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  redeeming  no  small  proportion  of  the 
debt.  These,  however,  are  details  into  which  it  is  not  the 
object  of  this  work  to  enter,  and  which  it  is  the  less  desirable 
to  discuss,  as  they,  necessarily,  involve  very  complicated  con- 
siderations. My  present  object  is  not  to  demonstrate  how 
the  debt  may  be  satisfied,  but  only  to  regret  that  no  effort 
should  have  been  made  towards  that  end,  and  to  point  out 
how  needful  it  is  for  the  future  of  the  nation,  that  such  an 
object  should  not  be  entirely  neglected. 


CHAPTEE  VI. 

THE     CIVIL      LIST. 

CHAP.  VI.       AFTER  considering  so  many  branches  of  expenditure  which 
Thegrants  exhibit  prodigality  and  waste,  it  is  refreshing  to  turn  to  one 
Crown  the  branch  in  which  the  country  can  be  congratulated,  as  well 
on  a  reduction  of  the  charge  upon  the  people,  as  on  an  im- 
proved application  of  the  monies  voted.     The  sums  which  in 
previous  reigns  were  voted  for  the  Crown  were  notoriously 
excessive,  and  their  disbursement  was  too  often  the  occasion 
economical  of  great  scandal.     The  settlement  which  has  been  made  by 
applied!^11  the  nation  on  the  present  Royal  Family  is  economical ;  and 
every  subject  of  Her  Majesty  approves  the  wise,  the  pru- 
dent, and  the  patriotic  manner  in  which  such  monies  are  ex- 
pended. 

History  of  It  ^  scarcely  necessary  to  trace  the  origin  of  the  Civil 
List  Civill^st-  It  dates,  in  its  present  form,  from  the  time  of  Queen 
Anne — who,  on  her  accession,  surrendered  to  Parliament  the 
proceeds  of  the  Crown  Lands  and  Excise  Duties,  which  had 
been  granted,  at  the  Restoration,  to  King  Charles  II.  to  en-* 
able  him  to  defray  the  expenses  of  his  household,  and  of  his 
ambassadors,  judges  and  other  public  officers.  The  conside- 
Q.  Anne,  ration  for  which  Queen  Anne  relinquished  these  sources,  of 
revenue  was  an  annual  payment  of  700,0002.  per  annum,  and 
the  same  amount  was  voted  to  each  of  her  two  next  succes- 
Geo.  in.  eors  on  the  throne.  At  the  accession  of  King  George  III. 
the  Civil  List  was  increased  to  800,0002. ;  but  during  his 
reign,  various  additions  were  made  to  that  amount,  and  some 
millions  of  debts  were  incurred  by  different  members  of  the 
Royal  Family,  which  were  added  to  the  Civil  List  and  paid 
by  the  nation.  The  Civil  List  gradually  rose  in  this  reign, 
from  800,OOOZ.  in  1760,  to  1,136,000?.  in  1801,  and  1,257,0002. 


SEO.  II.]  THE  CIVIL  LIST. 

in  1813.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  war,  a  Committee  of  the°HAP-  VL 
House  of  Commons  was  appointed  to  inquire  into  the  subject, 
and  in  1816  the  Civil  List  estimate  was  reduced  to  1,216,OOOZ. 
But  nothing  really  effectual  was  done  until  the  accession  of 
King  George  IV.,  when  a  new  arrangement  of  the  Civil  Geo.  IV. 
List  was  made,  and  850,000?.  was  voted  for  the  support  of 
the  Royal  dignity.  This  arrangement,  however,  effected  no 
saving  to  the  nation — on  the  contrary,  it  increased  its 
expenses ;  for,  at  the  same  time,  items  of  expenditure, 
amounting  to  upwards  of  250,000?.  a  year,  were  transferred 
from  the  Civil  List  to  other  branches  of  public  expenditure — 
so  that  the  result  of  this  re-arrangement  was  to  give  King 
George  IV.  at  his  accession,  an  income  of  300,000?.  in  excess 
of  the  amount  originally  voted  to  his  father.  This  lavish 
grant,  and  the  mode  in  which  the  money  was  expended,  no 
doubt  contributed  to  the  unpopularity  of  the  Sovereign  and 
his  Court,  and  determined  Parliament  to  make  a  fresh  dis- 
tribution of  these  charges  on  the  accession  of  King  "William  William 
IV.  At  that  time  a 'separate  Civil  List,  which  had  beenIV' 
granted  from  the  Irish  revenue,  was  discontinued ;'  and  items 
which  had  been  paid  to  the  Sovereign,  in  addition  to  the 
Civil  List,  in  the  form  of  Scotch  Hereditary  Eevenue,  Droits 
of  Admiralty,  and  certain  duties,  were  ordered  to  be  paid 
into  the  public  exchequer.  The  Parliament  then  settled  the 
Civil  List  as  follows  : — 


For  the  King's  Privy  Purse £60,000 

For  the  Queen's          "          , 50,000 

For  the  Koyal  Household  Salaries 130,300 

For  the  Household  Expenses 171,500 

For  Special  Services 23,200 

For  Pensions 75,000 

£510,000 


This  Civil  List  was  not  so  great  a  reduction,  as  would  at 
first  appear,  from  the  amount  granted  to  King  George  IV., 
because  various  charges  were  removed  from  the  Civil  List  to 
the  Consolidated  Fund.  But  the  nation  gained  by  classify- 
ing the  items  of  expenditure,  and  putting  a  limit  upon  each ; 


230  TAXATION :  ITS  EXPENDITURE.  [SEC.  II. 

CHAP.  vi.  and  this  Civil  List  would  not  -have  been  unpopular,  but  for 

a  prevalent  belief  that  large  amounts  of  money  were  not 

The  pre-  applied  in  this  country.     On  the  accession  of  her  present 

List.  Majesty  it  was,  therefore,  determined  -to  inquire  into  and  re- 
arrange this  Civil  List  again,  and  it  was  then  settled  as 
follows : — 


For  the  Queen's  Privy  Purse £60,000 

For  Salaries  and  Eetired  Allowances 131,260 

For  Household  Expenses 172,500 

For  Koyal  Bounty,  Alms,  and  Special  Services 13,200 

For  Unappropriated  Monies 8,040  , 


£385,000 

The  great  feature  in  this  Civil  List,  was  throwing  the  items 
for  Retired  Allowances  and  Royal  Bounties  and  Alms,  upon 
Pensions,  the  charges  for  Salaries  and  Special  Services.     The  pensions, 
formerly  granted,  were  subject  altogether  to  a  new  arrange- 
ment.    Parliament  undertook  to  deal  with  all  then-existing 
pensions ;  and,  instead  of  placing  a  sum  of  money  at  the 
disposal  of  the  sovereign,  for  the  express  object  of  paying  a 
pension-list  therefrom,  authorized  the  Queen  to  grant  original 
pensions,  to  an  extent  not  exceeding  1,200^.  in  any  one  year. 
This  arrangement  has  proved  satisfactory  and  economical : 
instead  of  75,OOOZ.  a  year,  as  in  the  reign  of  King  "William 
IV.,  the  amount  now  paid  for  pensions  is  only  19,785^. 
Savings      The  saving  effected  to  the  country  in  the  Civil  List,  during 
the°*Civ§ tne  reign  of  her  present  most  gracious  Majesty,  has  been 
List  during  estimated  to  amount  to  many  millions:  and  considering  the 

the  present  ' 

reign.         condition  of  the  country,  the  great  wealth  of  many  of  our 
nobility  and  gentry,  and  the  increased  and  increasing  use  of 
luxuries  amongst  us,  it  cannot  be  thought  that  385, 0001.  a 
year  is  too  much  for  the  Royal  establishment.     On  the  con- 
trary, it  may  be  doubted  whether,  under  all  the  circumstances 
of  the  Royal  Family,  60,000£.  is  a  sufficient  sum  for  the 
large  and  numerous  claims  which  are  made  upon  the  Privy 
Gratitude  Purse.     The  nation  is  under  the  greatest  obligations  to  Her 
them%ove-  Majesty,  and  to  the  late  lamented  Prince  Consort,  for  the 
reign     for  economical  manner  in  which  the  Civil  List  has  been  adminis- 


SEC.  II.J  THE  CIVIL  LIST.  231 

tered,  for  the  care  which  has  been  taken  to  avoid  debt,  and  CHAP.  vi. 
for  the  example  which  has  been  set  to  society  of  a  well-  economical 
regulated  domestic  household.     Nothing,  probably,  will  be  Ration18' of 
more  marked  by  history  in  the  annals  of  the  present  reign,  these  funds 
than  the  blessings  conferred  upon  the  people  of  the  United 
Kingdom  by  this  great  example..     It  has  taught  the  whole 
Realm  a  lesson  of  prudence  and  method,  which  is  making 
itself  felt  in  every  social  circle. 

We  have  only  to  look  at  the  Royal  residences,  to  see  how     contrast 
different  is  the  expenditure  of  the  present  day  and  of  former  p^r^and 
reigns.     A  previous  sovereign  incurred  heavy  debts,  and  put  P™8^?1*  ®x~ 
the  nation  to  vast  expenses,   in   constructing   the   Chinese  under  this 
Pavilion  at  Brighton,  and  the  badly-situated  Palace  at  Pim- 
lico/*     Queen  Victoria  and  Prince  Albert  purchased  the 
estates   of  Osborne  and  Balmoral,  and  built  and  furnished 
Royal  residences  at  each  place,  out  of  the  revenues  of  the 
Crown,  and  without  making  the  smallest  demand  upon  the 
public.     If  we  only  look  to  the  improvements  which  have     , 
been  undertaken  at  Windsor  during  this  and  previous  reigns, 
how  highly  favorable  is  the  contrast !     Virginia  Water  ^as 
laid  out  as  a  place  of  luxurious  retreat  and  indolent  repose  : 
the  Model  Farm  in  the  Home  Park,  and  the  improved  dwell- 
ings for  the  poor  which  stud  the  neighbourhood  of  Windsor 
Forest,  illustrate  the  higher  objects  of  national  and  material 
improvement  to  which  the  attention  of  this  reign  has  been 
devoted. 

The  annuities  now  payable  to  the  various  branches  of  the  Annuities 
Royal  Family,  out  of  the  Consolidated  Fund,  are  of  a  very  b°ers  of 
reasonable  character.     The  largest  is  the  annuity  of  50,000£. 


*  "We  are  about  to  expend  a  very  large  sura  of  money  in  building  a  new  set  of 
Public  Offices  in  Downing  Street.  It  has  frequently  occurred  to  me  whether  a 
much  better  arrangement  would  not  have  been,  to  devote  Buckingham  Palace 
to  public  offices— for  which,  by  position  and  arrangement,  it  is  well  adapted — 
and  build  a  new  Palace,  in  a  proper  situation,  better  suited  for  the  accommodation 
of  the  Sovereign,  and  more  befitting  the  importance  of  the  nation.  The  admi- 
rable site  of  the  Palace  at  Kensington  (the  birthplace  of  our  Queen)  has  always 
seemed  to  me  the  best  within  the  metropolis  for  a  Koyal  residence;  and  before 
we  commenced  the  new  Public  Offices,  I  think  it  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  an 
arrangement  such  as  that  suggested  was  not  considered. 


232  TAXATION:  ITS  EXPENDITUKE.  [SEC.  II. 

CHAP/VL  a  year,  granted  to  the  King  of  the  Belgians  when  he  married 
the  heiress  to  the  throne  of  these  realms,  in  1816 ;  but  it  is 
greatly  to  his  Majesty's  honour,  that  since  he  accepted 
the  throne  of  Belgium,  he  has  annually  repaid  to  the  public 
exchequer  all  the  money  which  has  not  been  expended  out 
of  this  grant  in  the  maintenance  of  his  English  estate  at 
Clarernont  and  the  pensions  of  the  servants  of  his  Koyal 
Consort.  The  amount  so  repaid  into  the  exchequer  in  1862 
was  36,000£. 

The  Pen-  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  these  observations  as  to  the  Koyal 
Family,  do  not  apply  to  the  salaries  and  pensions  paid,  out 
of  the  Consolidated  Fund,  to  families  who  have  much  less 
title  to  the  national  consideration.  Some  of  the  items  of  the 
State  Pension-list  are  anything  but  creditable.  We  appear, 
in  many  cases,  to  be  paying  people  twice  over — giving  them 
salaries  and  allowances  as  great  officers  of  State  for  services 
which  they  do  perform,  and  at  the  same  time  giving  them 
pensions  and  compensations  for  services  which  they  have 
ceased  to  perform.  There  are  some  of  our  great  officials 
who  appear  to  manage  to  draw  a  salary  whether  they  are  in 
or  out  of  office.  Under  the  head  of  Diplomatic  Service,  also, 
the  salaries  and  allowances  are  of  a  character  which  it  is  im- 
possible to  justify. 

The  sal-     ^  might  well  be  worthy  consideration  also,  at  a  future 

tached  ato  ^ay>  whether  it  is  necessary  to  pay  stipends,  out  of  the  Civil 

Offi   Gre&f  ^st'  ^°  ^nose  members  of  the  nobility  who  usually  fill  the 

state.        higher  offices  about  the  throne.     The  honour  and  dignity  of 

such  positions   ought   to   suffice   without   emolument.      Of 

what  importance  can  it  be  to  one  of  our  great  nobility  to 

receive  2,000/.  a  year  as  Lord  Chamberlain,  or  Lord  Steward, 

or  Master  of  the  Horse,  or  Master  of  the  Buckhounds  ?     To 

attach  a  salary  to  such  appointments,  is  to  degrade  their 

dignity. 

The  Duch-     On  the  occasion  of  any  future  settlement  of  a  Civil  List, 

caster  ^nd  there  is  another  matter   which,    unquestionably,   ought   to 

Cornwall,   come  under  public  review.     I  refer  to  the  revenues  of  the 

Duchies  of  Lancaster  and  Cornwall — the  former  of  which 

appertain  to   the  Crown,  and  the   latter  to  the  Prince  of 

"Wales.     Mr.  Burke,  about  a  century  since,  declared  that 


SEC.  II.]  THE  CIVIL  LIST.  233 

these  Ducliies  "had  the  apparatus  of  a  kingdom  for  the  CHAP.  VI. 
"  government  of  a  private  estate — the  formality  and  charge  The~Duch- 
"  of  the  exchequer  of  Great  Britain  for  collecting  the  rents ies- 
"  of  a  country  squire  !"  When  the  Civil  List  was  settled  on 
the  accession  of  King  William  IV.,  Lord  Althorp  stated  that 
he  understood  the  management  and  revenues  of  these 
Duchies  were  to  be  delivered  over  to  Parliament,  together 
with  the  other  estates  and  revenues  of  the  Crown ;  but  from 
some  cause  or  other,  unexplained,  the  surrender  was  not 
made.  The  estates  at  that  time  were  almost  as  unproductive 
as  the  Woods  and  Forests  ;  they  appeared  to  be  maintained, 
not  for  revenues  and  rents,  but  for  the  purpose  of  multiply- 
ing offices  and  extending  influence.  Of  late  years,  under 
the  management  of  Prince  Albert,  acting  for  his  Royal 
Consort  and  his  son,  many  minor  abuses  in  the  management 
of  these  Crown  properties  have  been  terminated,  and  the 
revenues  from  both  have  been  considerably  raised.  The 
Duchy  of  Cornwall  now  pays  about  40,OOOZ.  a  year  to  the 
Heir  Apparent,  and*  the  Duchy  of  Lancaster  hands  over 
about  25,OOOZ.  a  year  to  the  Crown.  But  it  is  quite  certain 
that  these  properties  still  admit  of  great  improvement  and 
much  reform.  In  the  Duchy  of  Lancaster  alone,  7,OOOZ.  a 
year  is  expended  on  the  principal  officers  and  law  officers ; 
the  superannuations  amount  to  900Z.  a  year,  and  the 
travelling  expenses  to  nearly  900Z.  more.  In  fact,  out  of  a 
rental  of  about  45,000^.  a  year,  the  Crown  only  receives 
25,000/.  In  the  Duchy  of  Cornwall  the  expenses  of  manage- 
ment are  less  serious,  though  still  very  much  too  costly ;  but 
there  is  a  circumstance  touching  the  revenue  of  this  Duchy, 
which  much  affects  the  public  expenditure.  A  payment  of 
16,000£.  a  year  (more  than  one-third  of  the  net  revenue)  has 
been  inflicted  on  the  Consolidated  Fund,  as  a  compensation 
to  the  Duke  of  Cormvall  in  lieu  of  "  Tin  Coinage  Duties, 
Post  Groats,  and  White  Rents," — peculiar  privileges  for- 
merly exercised  in  the  Duchy,  and  of  which  some  Act  of 
Parliament  deprived  it.  Ought  such  an  item  to  continue  on 
the  accounts  either  of  the  nation  or  of  the  Duchy  ? "  Is  it  ' 
right  that  expensive  establishments  should  be  maintained  in 
order  to  manage  such  a  charge  as  this?  These  Duchies 


234  TAXATION  :  ITS  EXPENDITURE.  [SEC.  II. 

CHAP.  vi.  should  be  brought  under  public  control — their  "  Chancellors," 
Thelhwh-and  "Lord  Wardens,"   and    high    officers    abolished:   the 
estates  put   under  good  management,  and  judiciously  im- 
proved ;  and  all  such  charges  as  that  for  the  "  Tin  Coinage 
and  Post  Groat  Compensation  "  saved  to  the  Exchequer. 


CHAPTER  YIL 

GENERAL     REFLECTIONS. 

IT  was  well  said,  on  one  occasion,  by  a  celebrated  financier,  CHAP.  vii. 
the  late  Right  Hon.  James  Wilson  : — "  Finance  is  not  mere    Finance, 
"  arithmetic ;  finance  is  a  great  policy  ;  it  lies  at  the  bottom,  policy^68 
"  at  the  root  of  the  government  of  every  country.     "Without 
"  sound  finance,  no  sound  government  is  possible ;  without 
"  sound  government,  no  sound  finance  is  possible.     In  the 
"  commercial  and  fiscal  policy  of  a  nation  lie  the  foundation, 
"  the  happiness,  the  prosperity,  and  the  welfare,  not  only  of 
"  the  working  classes,  but  of  the  capitalists  also." 

It  has  been  demonstrated  in  the  foregoing  pages,  that  of 
recent  years,  finance  in  this  country  has  not  been  treated  as  but  •  made 

,.         ,,      (1     ,     .,    !  .    i  T    ^  ,T      subservient 

"  a  great  policy :  — that  it  has  not  been  regarded  as  at  the  to  inferior 
source  of  "  the  happiness,  the  prosperity,  and  the  welfare"  of0  Jects' 
the  people.     Our  taxation  has  been  levied  to  suit  temporary 
exigencies,  and  its  expenditure  has  been  uncontrolled  by  any 
consideration  of  our  means.     No  principle  has  been  applied 
either  to  its  levy  or  its  expenditure ;  but  everything  has  been 
adapted  to  party  objects  and  temporary  requirements.     But, 
if  finance  is  a  great  policy,  the  revenue  and  expenditure  of  a  , 
great  nation  ought  not  to  be  thus  managed.     The  position 
and  requirements  of  those  who  have  to  pay  the  taxes  ought 
to  be  considered  in  imposing  them,  and  expenditure  ought 
to  be  regulated  by  established  principles,  and  not  by  clamour, 
panic,  or  the  wants  and  wishes  of  interested  parties. 

Since  184-8  Parliament  has  exercised  very  little,  and  to  all  Decreas- 
appearance  a  decreasing  amount  of  control  over  the  public  0"g  pSj£! 
expenditure  of  the  nation.  Estimates  are  submitted  by  themue£1tic°^r 
Government,  objections  taken  to  them  are  received  with  penditure. 


236  TAXATION :  ITS  EXPENDITURE.  [Sao.  H. 

CHAP.  VII.  indifference  and  impatience  by  their  supporters,  and  the 
ThTsys-  amount  demanded  is  voted  in  a  lump,  without  apparently 
which  °nthe  smallest  knowledge  of  the  way  in  which  the  money  is  to 
™o°tedy  iS  ^e  aPP^ed-  Is  it  not  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  all  that  is 
necessary  to  effect  an  object  is  to  provide  the  money  for  it  ? 
A  few  years  ago,  the  House  of  Commons  was  suddenly  called 
illustrated  upon  by  the  First  Minister  of  the  Crown  to  vote  two  millions 
of  money  in  a  lump  sum,  in  order  to  provide  for  the  defences 
of  the  nation.  The  House  was  told  that  it  was  necessary  to 
defend  the  dockyards  from  attack  by  an  enemy ;  and  when 
the  inquiry  was  made  how  they  were  to  be  defended,  the 
the  vote  answer  was,  by  "fortifications."  Accordingly,  a  sum  of  two 
cations?1  "millions  was  granted  towards  the  object.  Not  long  after,  it 
transpired  that  a  very  large  proportion  of  this  money  was 
about  to  be  expended  in  the  construction  of  huge  forts  upon 
the  sand-banks  at  Spithead,  with  a  view  to  protect  Portsmouth 
harbour  against  the  entrance  of  an  enemy's  ships.  I  ventured 
to  express  a  very  strong  opinion  that  such  forts  would  be 
utterly  useless  for  any  such  object ;  and  I  laid  down  a  position 
"  that  great  guns  in  fixed  forts  could  not  avail  against  ships 
in  motion."  The  correctness  of  this  position  was  admitted  by 
Sir  "William  Armstrong,  who  invented  the  great  guns,  and 
by  the  Defence  Commissioners,  the  authors  of  the  fixed  forts.* 
A  motion  was  submitted  to  the  House  of  Commons  by  the 
hon.  member  for  Liskeard,  Mr.  Bernal  Osborne,  seconded  by 
myself,  and  after  a  severe  struggle  with  the  Government  we 
stopped  the  forts,  and  thereby  saved,  I  hope,  an  enormous 
sum  of  money  to  the  nation.  But  what  a  wretched  system 
is  here  exemplified;  what  an  absence  of  plan,  method, 
knowledge,  and  arrangement !  What  a  reflection  upon  the 
system  under  which  the  finances  of  this  great  country  are 
administered,  that  a  Minister  should  have  it  in  his  power  to 


*  Sir  William  Armstrong  in  his  evidence  said,  "  I  think,  if  the  object  kept 
moving  about,  it  would  be  very  difficult  to  hit  it ;"  and  the  Defence  Commission- 
ers reported,  "  that  vessels  would  offer  so  small  a  mark  at  a  distance,  that  even 
"  the  accuracy  of  the  newly  invented  rifled  ordnance  could  not  be  depended  on  for 
"  striking  them  ;  and  when  it  is  considered  that  each  will  be  in  motion,  and  that 
"  it  will  be  impossible  to  estimate  correctly  their  distance,  thus  constantly  varying, 
"  it  may  fairly  be  assumed  that  they  will  incur  but  little  risk." 


SEC.  II.]  GENERAL  EEFLECTIOKS.  237 

obtain  a  vote  from  the  House  of  Commons  of  no  less  than  two  CHAP.  VII. 
millions  of  money,  with  so  little  knowledge  as  to  the  best 
mode  of  applying  it,  that  the  very  works  to  which  this 
enormous  vote  were  first  made  applicable,  were  obliged  to  be 
stopped,  because  proved  to  be  absolutely  useless  for  the  pur- 
pose for  which  they  were  designed ! 

For  want  of  well-considered  plans,  an  immense  proportion  LOSS -which 
of  our  whole  revenue  and  expenditure  is  wasted.     It  has  "ant*  10of 
been  shown,  in  the  course  of  the  preceding  pages,  that  there  JJjJJjJJ*" 
are  great  defects  in  the  principles  on  which  we  levy  our  tax-Plans- 
ation  ;  and  there  is  most  unnecessary  waste  in  the  collection 
of  the  revenue  ;  that  we  spend  vast  sums  upon  our  military 
establishments  which  ought  not  to  be  spent  at  all ;  that  we 
pay  large  amounts  for  military  objects  which  ought  to  be  paid 
by  other  people ;  that  we  keep  up  establishments  for  naval 
purposes  long  after  they  have  been  superseded,  and  when  no 
objects  remain  which  those  establishments  can  supply ;  and 
that  generally  our  expenditure  is  characterized  by  an  almost 
reckless   prodigality.'    All  this  proceeds   from   the   ill-con- 
sidered, scattered,  and  unbusinesslike  manner  in  which  the 
finances  of  the  country  are  administered,  each  department 
doing  pretty  much  as  it  pleases,  one  very  often  quarrelling 
with  another,  and  all  conspiring  to  resist,  not  only  a  general 
control,  but  even  the  operation  of  the  law  itself. 

The  absence  of  a  governing  principle  in  our  affairs  can  be    Absence 
scarcely  more  completely  demonstrated  than  by  two  subjects  principles, 
already  considered  in  these  pages — our  Convict  system  andas 
our  Colonial  military  expenditure.     As  regards  our  convicts,  in        the 
we  seem  to  be  utterly  at  a  loss  to  know  how  to  deal  with 
them.     We  transport  some — we  keep  some  at  home.     Some  victs> 
of  those  we  transport,  we  employ  on  public  works — others  we 
leave  to  find  employment  for  themselves.     "We  send  the  worst 
description  of  offender  to  the  best  Colony,*  maintain  him  at 


•  *  The  people  of  Western  Australia  have  made  the  direst  complaints  of  the  class 
of  "  long  .sentence  men"  sent  to  that  Colony.  They  were  the  men  who  were  too 
bad  to  be  kept  at  home  ;  and  the  Western  Australians  have  represented  that  the 
moral  condition  of  that  Colony  has  been  poisoned  by  them. 


238  TAXATION :   ITS  EXPENDITUEE.  [Sao.  II.  . 

CHAP.JVU.  the  largest  expense  to  the  State,  and  afford  him  the  fairest 
prospect  of  future  advantage.*  Of  the  others,  whom  we 
keep  at  home,  some  are  kept  in  cells  until  it  is  said  they  be- 
come lunatic,  others  are  put  to  hard  labour  upon  prison 
works,  whilst  we  give  the  rest  tickets-of-leave  to  roam  about 

and  in  Co-  at  will.f     With  regard  to  our  Colonial  military  expenditure : 

lomal  mill-  ,       i 

tary  expen-  what  force  is  required  for  our  military  garrisons ;  whether  some 
of  the  garrisons  might  not  be  advantageously  abandoned; 
whether  other  Colonies  should  be  defended  by  fortresses  or 
by  fleets ;  what  expenses  we  ought  to  defray  ;  what  expenses 
the  Colonists  should  pay — all  these  are  questions  on  which 
no  fixed  principle  has  been  adopted  by  Parliament,  and  on 
which  we  are,  consequently,  entirely  at  the  mercy  of  different 
departments.  The  Home  Office,  the  Admiralty,  the  Colonial 
Office,  and  the  Emigration  Board,  all  have  a  share  in  the 
convict  question  : — 'the  Foreign  Office,  the  War  Office,  the 
Colonial  Office,  the  Admiralty,  the  Horse  Guards,  and  the 
Treasury,  all  have  something  to  say  on  the  question  of  Colo- 
nial military  expenditure.  One  department  differs  from 
another  ;  scarcely  any  two  of  them  agree ;  there  is -no  control- 
ling power,  for  Parliament  practically  abdicates  its  control 
of  the  expenditure  of  the  public  money,  and  the  conse- 
quence is  not  only  confusion,  but  excessive  expenditure  and 
waste. 

Anna-  Jn  the  same  way,  with  regard  to  expenditure  for  military 
and  naval  armaments.  Sir  Kobert  Peel  left  his  nation  a 
legacy,  the  result  of  great  and  wise,  profound  and  statesman- 
like, reflection,  when  he  suggested  the  perfect  practicability 
of  nations  making  mutual  arrangements  for  the  prevention 
of  wars.  Why  should  there  not  be  an  European  Congress 

and  Disar  that  should  consider  the  vital  subject  of  disarmament  ?     Eu- 
rope desires  peace  ;  not  an  armed  peace ;  not  a  peace  which 


*  "It  is  proved  that  many  who  went  as  convicts  to  Western  Australia,  are  now 
leading  lives  of  honest  industry  there,  and  have  raised  themselves  to  a  position  of 
independence." — Report  of  the  Transportation  Committee,  1861.  • 

t  It  is  to  be  hoped  the  Commission  recently  appointed  will  substantially  solve 
the  problem,  "  How  are  we  to  make  our  punishments  a  terror  to  evil-doers  ?"  At 
present  the  convict  fares  better  and  works  less  than  an  honest  day-labourer. 


8*0.11.]  GENERAL  EEFLECTIONS.  239 

threatens  war;  but  a  peace  that  will  permit  of  economy  of  CHAP.  vn. 
expenditure,  and  advancement  of  commerce  and  the  useful  LOSS  which 
arts.  How  inush  greater  popularity  might  not  be  expected  wan?  of  °an 


to  attend  a  statesman  who  attempted  the  great  work  of  or- 
ganizing  a  permanent  peace,  than  can  ever  attend  one  who, 
pandering  to  the  clamour  of  a  restless  military  spirit,  ex- 
pends the  treasure  of  his  country  in  building  fortresses  along 
her  shores  ! 

Turning  from  principles  to  details,  it  is  curious  to  observe  LOSS  aris- 
how  much  is  overdone  in   our  public   departments.     The^fnt  fr°of 
amount  of  additional  printing  required  shows  the  number  of  ^^  d^ 
forms  required  ;  and  the  increased  number  of  forms  required  partments. 
shows  the  additional  amount  of  work  that  is  needed  to  be 
performed.*      One  would  naturally   suppose   that   nothing 
would  be  easier  than  to  receive  a  tax.     But,  in  the  case  of 
some  taxes,  nothing  appears  to  be  so  difficult.     An  acquaint-    cumber- 
ance  had  a  cask  of  wine  sent  him  as  a  present  from  the  South  j°m^  f?Jmj| 
of  France.     It-  was  deposited  in  the  London  Docks,  where  Customs 
he  went  and  saw  it,  and  proposed  to  pay  the  dock  dues  and 
wine  duty,  and  take  it  away.     The  payment  of  the  dock 
dues,  though  they  comprehended  several  items,  was  an  easy 
matter  ;  but  not  so  the  payment  of  the  customs'  duty.     To 
make  that  payment  he  was  referred  from  the  dock  office  to 
the  Custom  House  ;  and,  on  going  there,  and  mentioning  his 
desire  to  pay  the  duty  on  his  cask  of  wine,  he  was  stared  at 
with  astonishment.     That  which  he  had  supposed  to  be  a 
simple  matter  of  receipt  and  payment,  turned  out  to  be  a 
transaction  of  the  utmost  complexity.     Forms  of  all  sorts 
had  to  be  filled  up,  signed,  countersigned  and  checked  ;  and, 
as  the  gentleman  in  question  was  utterly  unacquainted  with 
any  of  these  forms,  and  as  he  could  not  expect  the  clerks 
at  the  Custom  House  to  expend  their  time  in  teaching  him 
how  to  fill  them  up,  he,  at  last,  was  glad  to  act  upon  their 


*  A  discreet  use  of  the  press  in  some  departments  of  the  Government  might 
save  a  large  amount  of  expenditure  on  clerical  labour  ;  but  the  number  of  clerks 
in  public  offices  has  not  decreased  with  the  increased  use  of  the  press  ;  showing 
that  the  increased  printing  represents,  not  a  saving  of  labour,  but  an  increased 
number  of  forms. 


24:0  TAXATION :  ITS  EXPENDITURE.  [SEC.  II., 

CHAP,  vii.' advice,  and  place  the  matter  in  the  hands  of  a  Custom  House 

agent,  familiar  with  the  various  modes  of  transacting  busi- 

Need  of  ness  with  the  Customs.     This  shows  how  cumbersome  and 

tior£Mca~  costly  are  the  old-world    regulations    which    exist   in   our 

Government  departments,,  and  how  much  might  be  done  to 

economize  their  expenditure  by  a  simplification  of  system. 

Instead  of  simplification,  multiplification  appears  the  rule  of 

these  departments.     Can  we  not  find  a  man  who  will  set 

himself  to  simplify  ? 

Another     It  is  the  same  in  the  Inland  Revenue.     Income-tax  to  a 
of  the  want  considerable  amount  was  deducted  from  some  Consols  belong- 
cati8on!pM"  mg  to  a  charity.     It  was  desired  to  recover  the  amount.     A 
solicitor,  who  had  acted  in  some  matters  connected  with  the 
charity,  was  instructed,  in  the  first  instance,  to  obtain  this 
repayment,  but  his  charge  for  the  very  great  amount  of 
trouble  he  had  been  exposed  to  in  effecting  the  object  was  so 
heavy,  that  it  was  quite  obvious  he  could  not  be  employed 
twice  a  year  on  the  same  business  without  great  disadvantage. 
One  of  the  officers  of  the  institution  accordingly  undertook 
The  repay- to  obtain  the  money,  supposing  that  the  return  having  been 
come °fTax  once  m&de  it  would  not  be  very  difficult  to  obtain  the  money 
on  ^u^ure  applications.     Such  trouble  and  delays,  however, 
were  interposed  that,  had  the  amount  been  a  small  one,  he 
would  have  entirely  relinquished  the  attempt ;  but  as  a  large 
trouble-     sum  was  mv°lved  he  persevered.     At  length  the  money  was 
some  to  the  returned  ;  but  every  half  year,  he  assures  me  that  he  has  to 
go  through  the  same  forms  and  processes,  and  to  encounter 
just  the  same  delays,  though  the  claim  to  the  amount  is  well 
established  and  entirely  conceded  at  Somerset  House.     The 
question  which  arises  here  is,  why,  under  such  circumstances, 
and  a  loss  the  department  should  receive  such  money  at  all?     Besides 
to  the  state  all  t|ie  cierica|  and  other  duty  attending  its  half-yearly  re- 
payment, its  receipt  is  an  actual  pecuniary  loss  to  the  State, 
in  the  commission  which  is  paid  to  income-tax  collectors  and 
clerks  to  Commissioners ! 

And  so  with  all  our  departments.     We  have  been  taught 

The  Audit  for  a  number  of  years  past  to  suppose  that  the  Audit  Office 

was  a  great  check   upon   improper   expenditure  in  public 

departments,  and  that  its  establishment  (at  a  large  cost  to  the 


SEC.  II.  J  GENERAL    REFLECTIONS.  241 

nation)  was  a  great  advance.     But  it  has  recently  been  esta-  CHAP,  vn. 
blished  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  Committee  of  the  House  of 
Commons  on  Public  Accounts,  that  the  Audit  .Office  is  of  exercises 

;  no      check 

little  practical  value,  inasmuch  as  all  it  does,  or  is  permitted  on  expen- 
to  do,  is  to  check  over  again  the  checks  which  have  been 
previously  applied  by  the  offices  which  paid  the  money.* 
The  Audit  Office  has  no  right,  and  is  neither  allowed  nor 
expected,  to  make  an  observation  on  a  single  item.     All  it        Small 
has  to  do  is  to  see  that  the  vouchers  and  the  castings-up  are  "he  depart- 
correct,  and  as  all  this  has  been  seen  to  before,  the  clerical mentt 
duties  of  the  audit  are  rarely  of  any  utility  whatever.     In- 
deed, if  an   error  is   discovered  by  the  Audit  Office,  the . 
discovery  can  scarcely  be  of  any  value ;  for  the  business  of 
the  department  is  usually  so  much  in  arrear  that  such  a  dis- 
covery cannot  be  made  for  two,  three,  four,  and  even,  with 
some  accounts,  for  five  or  six  years  after  the  transaction,  so 
that  all  it  ordinarily  leads  to  is  a  great  deal  of  correspondence 
between  different  departments,  a  great  many  searches  with  a 
view  to  ascertain  the  'source  of  the  error,  and  the  employ- 
ment of  the  time  of  a  number  of  clerks,  frequently  to  very 
little  purpose. 

As  well,  then,  for  the  improvement  of  the  principles  as  of  Principles 
the  details  of  our  taxation,  the  great  object  is — arrangement  dealing 
and  simplification.     If,  instead  of  what  may  be  called  an  an- Son!  la*a~ 
nual  policy — a  policy  which  changes  both  the  character  arid 
the  extent  of  our  taxation  with  every  varying  aspect  of  affairs 
and  every  change  of  popular  opinion — certain  principles  were 
laid  down,  not  to  be  departed  from  except  in  extremity,  great 
national  benefit  would  result.     A  policy  of  Taxation  is  as 
desirable  as  a  Foreign  policy  or  an  Indian  policy,  and  is  not 
more  difficult  to  carry  into  execution. 


*  "  From  the  evidence  it  appears  that  the  accounts  of  the  payments  into  the 
"  revenue  are  checked  in  detail  in  the  separate  departments ;  on  auditing  the 
"  income  accounts  at  the  Audit  Office,  the  Board  rely  mainly  on  the  detailed. 
"  examination  made  by  the  several  departments,  but  exercise  no  detailed  or 
"efficient  check  themselves."— First  Report  of  the  Select  Committee  on  Public 
Expenditure. 

16 


24-2  TAXATION:  ITS  EXPENDITURE.  [SEC.  II. 

CHAp.jra.      There  is  an  all-important  consideration,  which  ought  to  be 
One  great  looked  to  in  dealing  both  with  the  levy  and  expenditure  of 
tiorT  neg-  taxation,  but  which  has  been  very  little  regarded  : — I  refer  to 
Th^condi-  ^ie  condition  of  our  Poor.     In  raising  and  expending  One 
Poor°f  °Ur  -H-undred  and  Forty  Millions  annually,  we  look  to  the  burden 
which  can  be  borne  by  the  taxpayer — to  the  amount  required 
for  military,   naval,    and    miscellaneous  purposes;    but  we 
scarcely  ever  hear,in  Budget  speeches  or  debates  upon  Finance, 
one  syllable  as  to  the  effect  either  of  the  taxes  or  of -their  ex- 
penditure upon  the  state  of  our  poorer  brethren.     I  do  not 
refer  to  the  indirect  effect  which  the  remission  of  a  tax,  or 
the  increase  or  decrease  of  expense,  may  have  upon  their 
welfare,  but  to  the  actual  condition  of  our  population,  as 
Frightful  directly  affected  by  the  system  under  which  we  live.     It  is 
Pauperisnf an  awful  consideration  that  in  England,  abounding  as  it  does 
mEngiand.  with  wealth  and  prosperity,  there  are  nearly  a  MILLION*  of 
human  beings  receiving  indoor  and  outdoor  relief  as  paupers 
in  the  different  Unions,  besides  the  still  greater  number  de- 
pendent upon  the  hand  of  charity.     As  the  population  of 
England  and  Wales,  by  the  last  census,  was  20,205,504,  it 
One-twen-  follows  that  nearly  one-twentieth  part  of  our  people  are  sub- 
population  sisting  upon  charity  !     I  repeat  that  this  is  an  awful  fact ; 
upon^har- an(^  one  w^icn>  m  tne  midst  of  our  unrivalled  prosperity, 
it;y-  ought  to  cause    us  deep  humiliation.     When   we  talk    of 

income-tax  assessments,  military  equipments,  naval  stores,  art 
and  science,  and  all  the  other  subjects  connected  with  the  levy 
and  expenditure  of  our  immense  taxation,  ought  we  for  one 
moment  to  forget  the  position  of  our  dependent  population, 
amounting  to  one-twentieth  of  our  whole  people  ?  When  we 
congratulate  ourselves  upon  the  state  of  our  country — when 


*  The  number  of  Paupers  receiving  indoor  and  outdoor  relief  in  England   and 
Wales  -wan — 

INDOOK.                        ODTDOOK.  TOTAL. 

.    1,  January,  1849 119,375         ..         815,044        ..  934,410 

1,  January,  1862 142,400         ..         790,000         ..  932,400 

— so  that  pauperism  has  not  decreased  in  England  during  the  period  of  the  greatest 
prosperity  in  wealth  and  luxury  which  this  country  ever  knew. 


SBO.  II.]         §  GENERAL  REFLECTIONS.  24-3 

we  swell  with  pride  as  we  point  to  our  palaces,  our  parks,  our  UHA*.  vir. 
great  national  public  works,  the  mansions  of  our  nobles,  the 
luxurious  establishments  of  our  great  merchants  and  manu- 
facturers, ought  we  not  to  feel  abased  at  the  idea  that  one  in 
every  twenty  amongst  us  is  a  pauper?  With  all  we  levy,  and 
all  we  expend,  can  nothing  be  done  to  provide  employment 
for  this  population — the  most  willing  to  work  and  the  hardest- 
working  of  any  population  in  the  world  ?  This  ought,  really, 
to  be  the  great  aim  of  Taxation,  in  its  levy  and  expenditure, 
and  this  we  seem  almost  entirely  to  neglect. 

Above  the  class  of  paupers,  there  is  another  class  of  British  The  dwei- 
subjects  of  whom  our  financiers  seem  to  think  very  little.  po?r.°f ' 
For  many  years  past  our  philanthropists,  as  well  as  our 
police  authorities,  have  pointed  to  the  state  of  the  dwellings 
of  the  poor  as  a  source  of  vast  evil  in  this  country.  As  long 
as  the  poor  are  housed  as  they  are  in  London  rookeries, 
where  the  wicked  and  the  necessitous  are  brought  into  the 
closest  contact,  under  circumstances  which  afford  every  in- 
ducement to  vice,  it  cannot  be  expected  that  crime  will  be 
abated.  A  comprehensive  plan  is  required  to  house  the  in- 
dustrious, and  to  promote  their  yearning  for  respectability  ; 
and  if,  instead  of  subjecting  lodging-houses  to  police  inspec- 
tion, the  Legislature  did  something  towards  improving  the 
dwellings  of  the  poor,  it  might  be  thought  that  they  were 
better  fulfilling  their  duty  to  society  and  to  the  country. 


sion. 


If  anything  I  have  written  upon  this  or  any  kindred  sub-  Conciu- 
ject  should  have  a  beneficial  effect,  I  shall  be  more  than 
rewarded  for  the  labour  my  present  task  has  occasioned.  I 
at  least  can  claim,  for  all  that  I  have  written,  the  merit 
of  sincere  intention.  I  have  no  personal  or  party  aims  to 
gratify  :  my  sole  desire  is  the  benefit  of  those  amongst  whom 
I  live,  and  to  whose  skill  and  labour  I  stand  indebted  for  my 
position  both  in  commerce  and  in  Parliament.  I  cannot,  of 
course,  expect  that  my  views  on  every  subject  will  commend 
themselves  to  all  persons.  There  are  many  who  may  think 
I  have  gone  too  far  in  some  one  direction,  whilst  others  may 
be  of  opinion  that  I  have  not  gone  far  enough.  I  cannot 
hope,  for  example,  to  have  satisfied  either  the  advocates  of 


244  GENERAL  REFLECTIONS.  [SEC.  II. 

CHAP.  vil.  direct  or  indirect  taxation; — holding  as  I  do  to  the  opinion, 
that  it  is  best  for  our  country  to  adopt  a  mixed  system,  and 
concurring  with  Mr.  Gladstone  in  regarding  direct  and  in- 
direct taxation  "  as  two  sisters,  the  daughters  of  Necessity 
"  and  Invention,  differing  only  where  sisters  may  differ,  as 
"  where  one  is  of  lighter  and  the  other  of  darker  complexion, 
"  or  w,here  there  is  some  variety  of  manner — the  one  being 
"  more  free  and  open,  and  the  other  somewhat  more  shy,  re- 
"  tiring,  and  insinuating."  Others  may  object,  that  I  have 
proposed  alterations  and  improvements  without  suggesting 
any  specific  plan.  That  is  not  my  duty.  It  is  a  task  which 
properly  belongs  to  men  in  office,  one  of  whom  boasted,  not 
many  years  ago,  that  he  spent  eight  or  ten  hours  a  day  in 
considering  the  financial  affairs  of  the  nation.  It  is  sufficient 
for  me  to  have  pointed  out  where  defects  exist,  where  they 
arise,  and  how  in  many  cases  they  may  be  remedied.  I  shall 
not  have  satisfied  alarmists,  for  I  see  no  cause  for  alarm  in 
the  condition  of  the  country ; — I  shall  not  have  satisfied  many 
economists,  for  I  do  not  recommend  reductions  of  small  items, 
but  desire  to  deal  with  the  system  in  the  gross  : — but  I  shall 
have  satisfied  myself  if  these  reflections  on  "  TAXATION  in  its 
LEVY  and  EXPENDITURE  "  lead  to  that  calm  and  thoughtful 
reflection  which  is  most  likely  to  result  in.  the  recognition  of 
more  correct  principles,  and  the  adoption  of  improvements 
beneficial  to  the  nation. 


INDEX. 


A. 

ACQUITTAL,  verdicts  of,  214. 

Admiralty  Court  fees,  118. 

Albert,  Prince,  his  able  management  of  the 
Crown  properties,  233. 

Alderney,  cost  of  the  public  works  at,  192. 

Ale-tax,  remission  of,  in  1830,  89  ;  advan- 
.  tages  of  the  remission,  ib. 

Alice  Holt  Forest,  receipts  and  expen- 
diture of,  125. 

America,  war  with,  (see  United  States  and 
South  America,)  168. 

Armaments,  (see  MILITARY  ESTABLISH- 
MENTS.) 

Armorial  bearings,  duties  assessed  on,  112. 

Armstrong,  Sir  Win.,  his  opinion  on  the 
employment  of  great  guns  against  ships, 
236. 

ARMY,  Expenditure  of  the,  149  et  seq.  ; 
reasons  for  its  increase,  149  ;  imposed  as 
a  permanent  annual  burden,  149  ;  num- 
ber of  men  from  1828  to  1863,  ib.  ;  a  per- 
manent burden  created  by  war,  150 ; 
should  be  strictly  adjusted  to  what  is 
necessary,  151 ;  number  of  troops  re- 
quired for  the  colonies,  153  ;  expenditure 
governed  by  the  number  of  men  voted, 
154  :  is  a  standing  army  necessary  to  re- 

'  pel  invasion?  155;  evils  attending  its 
maintenance,  ib. ;  our  military  expen- 
diture, ib..;  the  staff,  157  ;  of  what  it 
consists,  ib.  ;  staff  in  England,  Ireland, 
and  the  colonies,  158 ;  its  cost,  ib. ; 
warlike  stores,  ib. ;  manufacturing  es- 
tablishments, ib.  ;  number  of  labourers 
employed,  159;  cost  of  ordnance,  ib.;  of 
educational  establishments,  ib.  ;  of  the 
war  department,  ib. ;  non-effective  ser- 
vices, ib.  ;  superannuations  of  clerks, 
&c.  ib.;  general  extravagance,  ib.  ;  num- 
ber of  troops  maintained  in  military  gar- 
risons, &c.,  abroad,  160,  161 ;  excessive 
cost  of  these  troops,  1 61 ;  military  ex- 
penses of  the  Ionian  Islands,  161,  162  ; 
our  military  establishments  in  the  colo- 
nies, with  the  number  of  troops  and 
their  cost,  163  ;  the  camps  at  Chobham 


and  Aldershot,  168  ;  wars  with  America, 
France,  and  Russia,  168 ;  large  arma- 
ments in  time  of  peace  weaken  the  re- 
sources and  exhaust  the  spirit  of  the 
people,  170  ;  war  budgets  v.  commercial 
treaties,  171. 

Army  estimates,  material  economy  might 
be  effected  in  the,  172. 

Art,  public  expenditure  on  the  promotion 
of,  189,  216,  217  ;  schools  of,  217. 

"  Articles  of  luxury  "  often  articles  of  ne- 
cessity, 37. 

ASSESSED  Taxes,  Financial  review  of  the, 
111  et  sej.;  principle  of  this  system  of 
taxation,  111 ;  recent  reduction  of  rates. 
Ill ;  number  of  articles  assessed,  ana 
the  result  to  the  revenue,  112  ;  the  dog- 
tax,  ib.  ;  house-tax,  112,  113  ;  land-tax, 
115,117  et  seq.,  (see  Land-tax;)  pound- 
age on,  138  ;  cost  of  collecting,  139  ;  sav- 
ing that  might  be  effected,  140. 

Assessments  o'n  property  and  income-tax 
in  1813-15  and  1860-61,  46 ;  inadequate- 
ness  of,  47  ;  proposals  for  a  better  sys- 
tem of,  58. 

Attorneys,  duty  on  their  certificates,  108. 

Auctions,  repeal  of  the  duty  on,  77. 

Audit  Office,  240  ;  small  utility  of  the  de- 
partment, 241. 

Australia,  her  exports  and  imports  con- 
trasted with  those  of  India  and  China,  5 ; 
Earl  Grey's  decision  as  to  her  support- 
ing the  troops  necessary  for  defence, 
165,  166. 

Austria,  smallness  of  our  exports  to,  3. 

B. 

BANKERS'  notes,  stamp  duties  on,  118. 

Banking  business,  an  army  of  postmasters 

required  for  the,  69. 

'  Beer,  tax  on,  its  operation  on  the  malt  du- 
ties, 89 ;  result  of  the  remission  of  the 
tax  on,  in  1830,  90 ;  its  advantages,  ib. 
n. 

Beer-shops,  licences  to,  opposed  by  the 
clergy  and  magistrates,  107  ;  obstruc- 
tions offered  to,  ib. 


INDEX. 


Beet- root,  few  attempts  to  extract  sugar 
from,  ill  this  country,  34;  a  spirit  used 
l>y  French  polishers  distilled  from,  ib.  n. 

Bere  Forest,  receipts  and  expenditure  of, 
125. 

Bills  of  exchange,  stamp  duties  on,  118. 

Brewing,  nothing  to  prevent  it  in  the 
operation  of  the  malt-tax,  Hi. 

Bricks,  repeal  of  duty  on,  and  its  bene- 
ficial efl'ects  on  construction,  73  et  n. 

British  North  America,  right  of,  to  main- 
tain her  own  military,  185. 

Budget,  discussions  on  the,  2. 

0. 

CABBAGE-leaves,  used  to  adulterate  rolled 
tobacco,  29. 

Camps  at  Chobham  and  Aldershot,  168; 
their  influence  in  the  Crimean  war,  ib. 

Canada,  capable  of  maintaining  herself 
atrain^t  invasion,  165;  her  ardour  when 
the  Trent  affair  took  place,  165  et  n. 

Canton,  trade  of  China  formerly  confined 
to,  19;  difficulties  attending  transport 
from,  ib. 

Cards  for  play,  duties  on,  110  ;  cards  and 
dice,  duties  on,  118. 

Carriages,  duties  assessed  on,  112. 

Certificates,  duties  on,  108,  (see  Trade  Li- 
cences.) 

Charities,  national,  cost  of,  220. 

Charity,  one-twentieth  part  of  our  popula- 
tion dependent  on,  242. 

Chemicul  tests  for  ascertaining  the  propor- 
tion of  malt  used  in  brewing,  1)7  ;  futility 
and  cost  of  such  examinations,.^. 

China,  increase  of  trade  to  be  expected  un- 
der our  free  trade  system,  4,  5  ;  cost  of 
tea  in,  18, 19  ;  our  trade  with,  19  ;  im- 
policy of  our  heavy  duties,  ib.  ;  exports 
to,  ib. ;  difficulties  of  transport  in,  ib.; 
great  field  for  the  addition  of  trade  with, 
'20 ;  bulk  of  her  trade  in  British  hands, 
ib.  ;  our  exports  and  imports,  ib.;  quan- 
tity of  tea  which  she  can  produce,  21  ; 
war  with,  175. 

Chopwell  Woods,  receipts  and  expenditure 
of,  125,  126. 

Cigars  subjected  to  a  higher  rate  of  duty 
than  unmanufactured  tobacco,  29  ;  the 
duty  on,  a  great  check  on  consump- 
tion, ib. ;  smuggled  to  an  immense  ex- 
tent, ib.  n. 

Civil  List,  228  ;  grants  to  the  Crown  eco- 
nomical and  well  applied,  ib.  ;  history  of 
the,  228,  229 ;  amount  of,  settled  by  Par- 
liament, 229 ;  the  present  one,  230  ;  pen- 
sions, ib.;  savings  effected  during  the 
present  reign,  ib. ;  the  Sovereign's  ad- 
ministration of  these  funds,  ib.;  contrast 
between  past  and  present  expenditure, 
231 ;  annuities  to  members  of  the  Koyal 
Family,  ib. ;  the  pension  list,  232 ;  the 
salaries  attached  to  the  great  ofhcers 
of  state,  ib.  ;  the  duchies  of  Lancaster 
and  Cornwall,  ib. 

Clerks  connected  with  the  Post  Office, 
number  of,  68  ;  their  miserable  pay,  ib.; 
their  numbers  excessive,  ib. 


Clocks,  duties  on,  35  ;  benefit!?  arising  from 
their  reduction,  ib. 

Coal,  export  duties  on,  39  ;  French  con- 
sumption of,  in  1858,  ib.;  our  best  policy 
to  sell  cheap,  40. 

Coast  guard,  cost  of  the,  131 . 

Cobdeu,  Mr.,  the  honour  due  to  him  for 
his  management  of  the  French  treaty, 
38. 

Coffee,  Customs'  revenue  arising  from,  15. 

Collection  of  the  property  and  income  tax, 
proposals  for  a  better  system,  58. 

Collectors  of  revenue  deduct  their  own 
stipends,  138. 

Colonial,  consular,  and  foreign  services, 
cost  of,  189,  218. 

Colonial  fortifications,  16G  ;  estimated  ex- 
penses, 167. 

Colonies,  number  of  troops  in  the,  160; 
and  the  cost,  ib.;  number  of  troops  re- 
quired for  the,  153;  report  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  18C1  on  the  military  expendi- 
ture of  the,  ib.  ;  cost  of  our  military 
establishments,  and  the  number  of 
troops  employed,  163,  164  ;  repayments 
made  by  the,  ib.;  they  ought  to  pay  for 
their  own  defence,  164;  absence  of  lead- 
ing principles  as  regards  military  ex- 
penditure, 238. 

Commerce,  injurious  effects  of  a  high  ra"te 
of  duty  illustrated  in  tea,  23;  exten- 
sively promoted  by  the  French  treaty, 
35  et  seq.  (see  Trade.) 

Commissionaires,  offer  a  tariff  for  the  deliv- 
ery of  circular  letters  far  below  the 
penny  postage  rate,  73. 

Commissions  for  collection  of  revenue, 
137. 

Committals  of  prisoners  too  frequent,  es- 
pecially by  country  magistrates,  214  et  n. 

Convicts,  cost  of,  209  ;  their  prisons,  210 ; 
transportation  of,  209  ;  tickets  of  leave, 
210,  211,  ib.;  absence  of  leading  prin- 
ciples with  regard  to,  237  ;  their  con- 
dition in  Australia,  238,  239  n. 

Cornwall,  revenues  of  the  duchy,  232-233. 

Court-guides,  offices  of  the,  centres  fortlso 
delivery  of  circulars,  73. 

Crime  in  England,  extent  of,  209 ;  best 
mode  of  checking,  215. 

Crimean  war,  168. 

Criminal  law,  a  mass  of  confusion,  215  n. 

Crown  lands,  expenditure  and  manage- 
ment of  the,  123,  130  ;  their  great  extent 
and  value,  123;  the  rent-roll,  124;  in- 
crease of  the  gross  revenue  not  accom- 
panied by  a  corresponding  increase  of 
net  revenue,  ib. ;  cost  of  managing,  ib.  ; 
the  "woods  and  forests,"  125;  New 
Forest,  Salcey  Forest,  &c.,  $./ Disaf- 
foresting of  Wychwood  and  Ilainault, 
127  ;  expense  of  collecting  the  receipts, 
143. 

CUSTOMS'  DUTIES,  alterations  in  the,  2  ;  re- 
ductions accomplished  without  any  re- 
duction of  revenue,  ib.;  the  result  proves 
the  wisdom  of  free  trade,  3 ;  the  first 
report  of  the  commissioners  under  the 
new  tariff,  ib.  n.  ;  general  review  of,  13 


INDEX. 


247 


et  seq.  ;  the  recent  remissions  of.  attended 
with  no  loss  of  revenue,  ib.;  the  policy 
of  remitting  therh  justified  by  the  result, 
ib.;  Mr.  McCulloch's  opposition  to  the 
remission  of,  ib. ;  principles  on  which 
they  should  be  applied,  14 ;  revenue 
arising  from,  in  1860,  1861,  15 ;  duties  at 
present  levied  on  tea,  1  6  et  sea.  ;  great 
field  for  additional  trade  with  China,  20; 
probable  effect  of  reduced  tea-duty  on 
revenue,  22  (see  TEA  j)  duty  on  tobacco, 
23 ;  disadvantages  of  a  high  rate  on  ar- 
ticles of  consumption,  ib . ;  on  cigars  and 
snuffs,  29  (see  TOBACCO  ;)  on  sugar,  SO; 
rates  of  duty  on  sugar,  34  (see  SUGAR  ;) 
duties  on  wine,  35  ;  advantages  of  the 
French  treaty,  35,  36:  on  clocks  and 
watches,  35;  articles  of  luxury,  36;  re- 
port of  the  commissioners  of,  on  the 
French  treaty,  87 ;  on  exports  of  coal, 
39  ;  general  principle  which  applies  to 
export  duties,  40 ;  cost  of  collecting  the, 
130  et  seq.;  question  whether  they  are 
adapted  to  our  improved  commercial 
code,  132 :  the  present  system  inconsist- 
ent with  free  trade,  133  ;  the  practice  of, 
inconsistent  with  principles,^./  mode  of 
collecting  tea,  sugar,  and  wine,  133,  134 ; 
custom-house  establishments  where 
there  are  no  customs'  duties  to  collect, 
and  where  the  cost  of  collection  exceeds 
the  sums  collected,  ib.  ;  statistics  re- 
quired by  the  Board  of  Trade,  135 ; 
necessity  of  simplification,  ib.;  improve- 
ments on  the  old  system,  136 ;  proposal 
to  consolidate  them  with  the  Excise,  141 ; 
cumbersome  forms  in  paying,  239  ;  want 
of  simplification  in,  340. 


D. 

"DEAD  LETTERS,"  number  of,  never  de- 
livered by  the  Post  Office,  69. 

Dean  Forest,  receipts  and  expenditure  of, 
125. 

Debt  (see  NATIONAL  DEBT.) 

Deeds,  stamp  duties  on,  121. 

Deeds  and  instruments,  stamp  duties  on, 
118. 

Delamere  Forest,  receipts  and  expenditure 
of,  125. 

Delivery  notes,  stamps  on,  109. 

Differential  duties  between  English  plan- 
tation and  East  India  sugars,  31  •  be- 
tween the  West  India  colonies  ana  the 
foreigner,  ib.  ;  in  favour  of  sugar  pro- 
duced by  free  labour  considered,  32  ;  on 
spirits,  effect  of,  86. 

Discounts,  allowances  of,  137. 

D'Israeli's  views  of  the  property  and  in- 
come tax,  50  ;  his  proposal  for  repealing 
half  the  malt  tax,  91. 

Dock  orders,  stamps  on,  109. 

Dockyards,  parliamentary  reports  on  the 
system  of,  176  ;  at  home  and  abroad,  177  ; 
their  ^ost,  178  ;  not  adapted  for  iron  ship- 
building, ib. ;  report  of  the  commis- 
sioners on  the,  179  ;  Earl  of  Gifford's 
speech  on,  ib. ;  report  of  the  Royal  Com- 


missioners, 183;  memorandum  of  the 
controller  of  the  navy,  ib.  ;  report  of  the 
commissioners  unproductive  of  improve- 
ment, 184  ;  savings  which  might  be 
effected  in,  186;  disproportion  between 
salaries  and  wages,  187. 

Dogs,  duties  assessed  on,  112. 

Dover,  cost  of  the  public  works  at,  193. 

Draits,  stamp  duties  on,  119. 

Drawbacks,  allowances  for,  137. 

Drivers  of  hackney  and  stage  carriages, 
excise  duties  on,  108. 

Duncan,  Lord,  his  committee  on  the  land 
revenues  of  the  Crown,  123. 

Duties  (see  Customs'  Duties.) 


E. 

East,  increase  of  trade  to  be  expected  un- 

der our  free-trade  system,  4. 
East  India  sugars,  contest  respecting  the 

duties  on,  31. 
Education,  public,  expenditure  on,   189, 

216  et  seq. 
Educational  establishments  for  the  armv, 

cost  of,  158. 

Emigration  Board,  cost  of  the,  218. 
England,  nothing  more  desirable  to,  than 

amity  with  France,  37  ;  duties  on  spirits 

in,  84  ;  consumption   of  malt  in,  1703  — 

1862,  92. 

England  and  Ireland,  state  of,  in  1831  and 

1863,  152-153. 

Envelopes  manufactured  by  Mr.  McCor- 
quodale,  80. 

Epping  Forest,  receipts  and  expenditure 
of,  125. 

Europe,  state  of,  in  1831,  contracted  with 
that  of  1863,  152. 

Excise,  proposal  to  consolidate  it  with  the 
customs,  141. 

EXCISE  DUTIES,  general  review  of,  75  et 
seq.  ;  their  baneful  effects  on  British 
trade  and  industry,  ib.  ;  Sir  Robert  Peel's 
views  respecting  them,  ib.  ;  his  repeal 
of  the  glass  duty  and  its  effect,  76  ; 
its  value  attested  by  general  use,  77,  (see 
al  of  th 


GLASS;) 


e  auction  duty,  ib.  ; 


of  the  brick  duty,  78  ;  of  the  soap-tax. 
79,'(se<3  SOAP  ;)  of  the  paper  duty,  ib.;  and 
benefits  resulting  from,  80,  (see  Paper  ;)  of 
the  hop  duty,  81;  and  extended  use  of 
foreign  hops,  82,  (see  HOPS  ;)  evils  of  the 
old  excise  duties,  ib.;  existing  duties,  83  ; 
duty  on  spirits,  ib.;  consumption  of 
spirits  not  checked  by  high  rates  of  duty, 
ib.;  illicit  distillation,  84;  differential 
rates  existing  until  1856,  86  ;  spirit 
smuggling  u  across  the  border,"  ib.  ; 
equalization  of  the  duties,  87  ;  increase 
of  revenue  from,  88,  (see  SPIRITS  ;)  the 
malt  duty  and  its  complications,  ib.  ; 
malt  consumed  in  England  under  differ- 
ent rates  of  duty,  92  ;  frauds  connected 
with  the  malt  duty,  94,  (see  MALT;)  im- 
provement in  the  administration  of  the 
Excise  law,  ib.  ;  malt  v.  spirits,  ib.  ; 
taste  for  spirituous  liquors  on  t  he  decline, 
95  ;  consumption  of  beer  increases, 


248 


INDEX. 


whilst  that  of  spirit  decreases,  ib.;  on 
removal  of  restriciions  on  trade,  97;  tax  on 
railway  passengers,  and  its  character,  98, 
(see  RAILWAYS  ;)  taxes  on  locomotion  in 
London,  100 ;  the  hackney  carriage  duty, 
ib.  ;  on  restrictions  of  the  trade,  102, 
(see  HACKNEY  CARRIAGES  ;)  trade  licences 
and  certificates,  and  rates  of  duty  for. 
103, 104,  (see  TRADE  LICENCES  ;)  licensing 
of  public-houses,  105;  restrictions  on 
the  number  of  public-houses  not  condu- 
cive to  temperance,  106;  beer-shop 
licences,  ib.;  (see PUBLIC-HOUSES;)  news- 
paper stamps,  109  ;  recent  additions  to 
the  stamp  duties,  ib. ;  stamps  on  de- 
livery notes,  dock  orders,  &n.,  ib. ;  du- 
ties on  dice  and  playing  cards,  109,  110  ; 
general  cost  of  collecting,  130,  140 ;  re- 
duction of,  not  followed  by  reduction  in 
cost  of  management,  140. 

EXPENDITURE  of,  the  revenue,  reduction 
of,  by  retrenchment,  6  ;  its  vast  increase, 
lo  ;  war  expenditure,  11;  considerations 
on,  12;  general  review  of,  145  et  seq.; 
increase  of,  consequent  on  the  war  with 
France,  146  ;  reduction  on  peace  in  1802, 
ib. ;  rapid  increase  on  the  renewal  of 
war,  ib. ;  enormous  expenditure  between 
1793  and  1816,  ib.  ;  reductions  between 
1815  and  1840,  ib.  ;  expenditure  between 
1840  and  1854,  147  ;  during  the  Crimean 
war,  ib.;  from  1S57-1862,  ib. ;  cost  of 
the  Crimean  war,  148;  large  rate  now 
maintained,  ib.  ;  cost  of  the  army,  149 
et  seq. ;  our  present  preparation  sufficient 
without  any  addition  to,  171,  172;  cost 
of  the  navy  from  1815  to  1862,  174,  175  ; 
miscellaneous  estimates  not  classified 
under  their  respective  heads,  189  et  seq. 
(see  MISCELLANEOUS  EXPENDITURE;)  the 
national  debt,  &c.,  222  et  seq. 

Exports,  extraordinary  increase  of,  under 
the  late  commercial  reforms,  3 ;  vast  in- 
crease of  trade  arising  from,  ib.  ;  ex- 
tended to  the  various  countries  of 
Europe  and  the  East,  3,  4  ;  their  extent 
to  Australia,  5;  to  China,  19;  duties  on, 
39  ;  their  disadvantageous  results,  ib. ; 
general  principles  which  applies  to,  40. 


F. 

Factories  for  the  army,  cost  of,  158. 

Felony,  a  vast  number  of  offences  impro- 
perly treated  as  such,  215. 

Finance,  our  sysiem  of,  destitute  of  im- 
provement during  the  last  twenty 
years,  9  ;  the  national  debt  increased, 
and  nothing  saved  to  meet  the  financial 
exigencies  of  the  State,  ib. ;  administra- 
tion of  our  financial  affairs  unimproved, 
ib.;  our  knowledge  of,  has  rapidly  pro- 
gressed since  Mr.  Pitt's  time,  57;  not 
mere  arithmetic,  but  a  great  policy,  235. 

Financial  position  of  the  country,  1.;  its 
importance,  ib. ;  spirit  in  which  the  ques- 
tion has  been  discussed,  2  ;  general  con- 
siderations on  the,  3  etseq.  (see  Taxation;) 
main  objections  to,  12;  the  renewed  ap- 


plication of  a  sound  principle  required, 
ib. 

Financial  Reform  Association  of  Liver- 
pool, their  objections  to  assessed  taxes, 
110  n. 

Fire  insurance  duty,  118  -121. 

Fleet,  treasure  expended  on  the,  176. 

Forests,  (see  Woods  and  Forests.) 

Fortifications  in  the  colonies,  166;  esti- 
mated expenses,  167 ;  absurd  system  of 
voting  money  for,  236. 

Franco,  beneficial  effects  of  the  last  com- 
mercial treaty  with,  3  ;  McCulloch's  ar- 
guments against  the  treaty  with,  13 ;  Lord 
Overstone's  objections,  14;  evil  effects 
of  her  hostile  tariff's,  35  ;  British  com- 
mercial treaty  with,  ib.  ;  duties  on  clocks 
and  watches  of,  ib.;  her  articles  of  lux- 
ury, 36  ;  effects  of  the  reduction  of  du- 
ties on  French  wines,  ib.;  importations 
of  French  wines  after  the  reduction  of 
duties,  ib.;  her  late  commercial  treaty 
most  largely  beneficial  to  British  com- 
merce, 37  ;  observations  of  the  Commis- 
sioners of  Customs  on  the  French  Treaty, 
ib.;  and  its  probable  future  conse- 
quences, 38  ;  nothing  more  desirable 
than  intercourse  and  amity  between  her 
and  England,  ib.  ;  what  we  owe  to  the 
Emperor  and  the  statesmen  of,  ib.  ;  her 
difficulties,  39;  late  war  with,  168;  our 
naval  rivalry  with,  the  cause  of  our  large 
armaments,  187. 

Franks,  number  of  letters  which,  in  1839, 
passed  under  cover  of  the  Post  Office,  61. 

Frauds  in  the  Post  Office,  70  ;  arising  from 
the  soap  duties,  84  ;  connected  with  the 
malt-tax,  93.  * 

Free  labour,  differential  duties  respecting 
sugar  produced  by,  31  ;  greatly  increased 
production  of  sugar  in  the  Mauritius  by, 
32. 

Free-trade  policy,  the  Customs'  Commis- 
sioners favourable  report  on,  3  n.  ;  wis- 
dom of,  established  by  results,  ib.  ;  vast 
extent  of  trade  which  may  be  expected 
from,  ib.  et  seq. ;  modes  by  which  it 
may  render  the  revenue  of  a  nation  suffi- 
cient for  expenditure,  5. 

Free  trade  in  sugar,  West  India  colonies 
not  really  injured  by,  31. 

French  Treaty,  (see  France.) 

Fruit,  Customs'  revenue  arising  from,  15. 

Funds  and  securities,  amount  of  property- 
tax  on,  45. 

G. 

German  legion,  our  employment  of  a, 
170  n. 

Gilford,  Earl  of,  his  speech  on  iron  ship- 
building, 179 ;  his  death,  ib.  n. 

Gladstone,  Et.  Hon.  W.  E.,  his  alteration 
in  the  income-tax,  43  ;  his  views  oi  the 
property  and  income  tax,  50  n. ;  his 
repeal  of  the  soap-tax,  79. 

Glass,  repeal  of  the  duty  on,  76  ;  immense 
benefits  resulting  from  that  measure,  ib. 
et  n.  ;  value  and  beauty  of,  ib.;  its  gen- 
eral utility,  77. 


INDEX. 


249 


Grapes,  Robert,  case  of,  197. 
Grey,  Earl,  his  principle  of  military  colo- 
nial expenditure,  165,  166. 
Gunpowder,  enormous  expenditure  of,  158. 


II. 


HACKNEY  and  stage  carriages,  excise  duties 
on,  83,  101,  luS :  recent  alterations  of 
duty,  39  ;  Act  of  1853,  101 ;  its  object 
and  effect,  ib.  ;  agitation  for  altering 
the  Act  of  1853,  102;  on  removal  of 
restrictions  on  the  trade,  102,  103. 

Hainault  Forest,  profitable  disafforesting 
of,  127. 

Hair-powder,  duty  on,  112  n. 

"Harbours  of  Kefuge,"  192;  their  cost, 
ib. 

Harwich,  cost  of  the  public  works  at,  193. 

Hawkers,  excise  duties  on,  108. 

Hazleborough  Wood,  receipts  and  expen- 
diture of,  125. 

Highmeadow  Woods,  receipts  and  expen- 
diture of,  ib.;  small  produce  of,  ib. 

Holyhead,  cost  of  the  public  works  at, 
193  ;  their  present  condition  and  future 
prospects,  194. 

Hops,  repeal  of  the  duty  on,  31 ;  probable 
effects  of  their  remission,  ib. ;  use  of 
foreign  hops,  82. 

Horse-dealers,  duties  assessed  on,  112. 

Horses,  duties  assessed  on;  ib. 

Hospitals  of  Dublin,  cost  of,  221. 

House-tax,  113  ;  an  excellent  substitute  for 
a  window-tax,  ib.  ;  should  be  kept  on  a 
moderate  scale,  ib.;  the  old  tax  remitted 
in  1834,  ib.  ;  principles  of  the,  114  n.  ; 
the  present  tax,  ib.  ;  Mr.  D'  Israeli's  pro- 
posal to  double  it,  ib.;  produce  of  the, 
from  1852  to  1861,  ib. 

Houses  and  tenements,  amount  of  pro- 
perty-tax on,  45. 

Houses  of  Parliament,  expenses  of  the, 
195. 

Hume,  Mr.,  his  committee  on  the  income- 
tax,  53  ;  evidence  on,  54,  (see  INCOME- 
TAX  ;)  his  draft  report,  55  ;  recommends 
a  property  tux,  ib. ;  summary  of  his  gen- 
eral conclusions,  ib.;  his  report  without 
result,  56  ;  the  inquiry  of  his  committee 
tainted  by  pa  ty  objects,  58,  59. 


I. 


ILLICIT  distillation,  reduction  of  rates  for 
checking,  84. 

Imports  from  Australia,  5  ;  of  tea,  16,  17. 

Income-holder,  almost  invariably  under- 
states his  income,  52. 

Income-tax  imposed  by  SirR.  Peel,  5 ;  his 
inquiries  and  consultations  respecting, 
6 ;  intended  as  a  temporary  measure,  but 
made  permanent,  7;  extended  to  Ire- 
land, 8 ;  increased  without  being  im- 
proved, ib. ;  its  irregularities  and  evils,  j 
^b.  ;  Mr.  Hume's  committee  on,  53  ;  evi- 
dence on  the,  54;  its  inequalities,  ib.  ;  \ 


evidence  of  the  actuaries,  ib.  ;  the  draft 
report,  55 ;  a  property  tax  recommended 
in  lieu  of,  ib.  ;  and  objections,  ib.  55, 
56  ;  Mr.  Hume's  report  on,  without  re- 
sult, 57  ;  cost  of  collecting,  130  ;  pound- 
age on,  138 ;  expense  of  collecting  the, 
142;  opinion  of  the  Inland  Revenue 
Commissioners  on  collection  of  the,  ib. 
(see  PROPERTY  and  INCOME  TAX.) 

India,  increase  of  trade  to  be  expected  un- 
der our  free-trade  system,  4,  5. 

Industry  of  the  population,  occupation  for 
the,  199. 

Inland  Revenue,  report  of  the  Commis- 
sioners on  Schedule  D.  of  the  income- 
tax,  49 ;  cost  of  collecting  the,  137 ; 
drawbacks  and  discounts,  ib.  ;  immense 
number  of  forms,  and  their  cost,  141  n. 

Invasion — is  a  standing  army  necessary  to 
repel  it  ?  155. 

Ionian  Isles,  military  expenses  of  the,  161; 
our  protectorate,  162;  the  commercial 
and  political  evils  thence  resulting,  ib.; 
historical  notices  of  the,  ib.  n.;  their  for- 
tifications not  defensible,  ib. ;  their 
abandonment  desirable,  163,  etn. 

Ireland,  income-tax  extended  to,  8 ;  adul- 
teration of  snuff  in,  29,  30 ;  duties  on 
spirits  in,  86  ;  consumption  of  malt  in 
1857-1862,  93  ;  expenses  of  the  govern- 
mental establishments  of,  199,  200  ;  the 
past  and  future  of,  200  ;  progressive  im- 
provement in  her  trade,  ib.;  diminution 
of  pauperism  in,  201  n. ;  armed  con- 
stabulary force  in,  207  n. ;  improved 
condition  of,  207  ;  cost  of  criminal  pro- 
secutions, ib.:  diminution  of  crime,  ib.; 
aggregate  of  Irish  law  charges,  209. 

Iron  steamships,  our  dockyards  not  adapted 
for  building  them,  178,  183  ;  have  all 
been  constructed  in  private  yards,  179  ; 
the  Dockyard  Commissioners'  approval 
of  contract  ship-building,  183;  Earl  of 
Gifford's  speech  on  the  building  of,  179  ; 
advantages  of  open  competition,  ib. ; 
reasons  for  their  preference,  130  ;  our 
maritime  supremacy  promoted  by,  132  ; 
vote  of  the  House  of  Commons  for,  184 ; 
the  vote  of  the  Commons  set  at  defi- 
ance by  the  Admiralty,  185  n. 

J. 

JEFFREY,  Lord,  his  opinion  in  favour  of  a 

aerty-tax.  and  his  letter  to  Mr.  Mec- 
;  of  St.  Kilda,  59r  60. 
Jersey,  cost  of  the  public  works  at,  192. 
Justice  (see  LAW  and  JUSTICE.) 

K. 

KAFFRARIA,  the  colonists  ought  to  main- 
tain their  own  military,  166  et  n. 


LABOURERS  employed  for  the  army,  cost 
of,  159. 


250 


INDEX. 


Lancaster  and  Cornwall,  revenues  of  the 
Duchies  of,  2^2,  233. 

Land  revenue  s  of  the  Crown,  Lord  Dun- 
can's committee  on  the,  123,  (see  CROWN 
LANDS.) 

Land  tax,  history  of  the,  115  ft  seq.  ;  its 
origin,  ib.  n.  •  made  perpetual  by  Mr. 
Pitt,  116;  interpretation  put  upon  the 
redemption  act,  and  its  consequent  fail- 
ure, ib.  ;  land  practically  xinassessed  to 
the  national  taxation,  117  ;  its  partiality 
and  injustice,  ib.  ;  cost  of  its  collec- 
tion, 131:  saving  that  might  be  effected, 
140. 

Lands  and  hereditaments,  amount  of  pro- 
perty-tax on,  46. 

Law  and  chancery  fund,  stamp  duties  on, 
118. 

Law  and  justice,  cost  of,  189,  201  el  seq. 

Law  charges  in  Ireland,vaggregate  of,  209. 

Legacy  and  succession  duty,  118;  distin- 
guished from  the  probate,  119 ;  history 
of  the.ift./  Mr.  Pitt's  measures  regarding 
the,  ib.  :  Mr.  Gladstone's  extension  of 
the,  and  its  effects,  119,  120. 

L  etters,  advantages  of  a  low  rate  of  post- 
age for,  61  ;  its  effects  on  the  revenue, 
ib.  ;  number  of  which,  in  1839,  passed 
through  the  Post  Office  under  franks, 
ib.;  the  State  ought  to  derive  an  ade- 
quate revenue  from,  ib.  ;  number  deliv- 
ered in  1839  and  1861,  62 :  number 
delivered  from  1839  to  1861,  with  the  not 
revenue  thence  derived,  ib.;  the  enor- 
mous increase  of,  ib.  ;  expenses  attend- 
ing, 63  ;  number  of  "  lost,"  "  returned," 
o:"%'  dead,"  which  the  Post  Office  never 
deliver,  69  ;  registration  of,  71 ;  deliv- 
ered by  the  Commissionaires,  &c.,  73. 

Letter-carriers,  number  of,  connected  with 
the  Post  Office,  68  ;  their  miserable  pay, 
ib.;  their  numbers  excessive,  ib.  ;  a  le- 
gion required  for  the  parcels  business  of 
the  department,  69;  moral  and  physical 
qualification  required  for,  70  et  n. 

Lewis,  Sir  G.  C.,  his  attempt  to  continue 
the  income-tax  at  the  war  rate,  43,  44. 

Licences,  excess  of  duties  on,  83  ;  stamp 
duties  on,  118  (see  Trade  Licences.) 

Licensing  system,  106. 

Life  assurance,  proposal  for  associating  the 
property  and  income  tax  with,  58. 

Locomotion,  taxes  on,  in  London,  100. 

"  Lost  letters,"  number  of,  never  delivered 
by  the  Post  Office,  69. 


M. 


MACLEOD,  Mr.  J.  M.,  Lord  Jeffrey's  letter 

to,  in  favour  of  a  property-t:ix,  .59. 
McCulloch's  arguments  against  the  French 

commercial  treaty,  14 ;  his  proposal  to 

extend  the  soap  duties  to  Ireland,  79  ; 

his  opposition  to  the  repeal  of  the  paper 

duty,  81. 
Magistrates,  their  committals  too  frequent, 

213,   214;    their    treatment    of    petty 

charges,  215. 


Malt,  excise  duty  on,  83,  88  ;  its  complica- 
tions, ib.  ;  effect  of  the  beer-tax  on,  89  ; 
agitations  against  the  tax  in  1834,  ib.  ; 
how  far  the  repeal  of  the  duty  would 
have  affected  agriculture,  ib. ;  result  of 
the  agitation  of  1834,  90  ;  opposition  to 

1  the  tax  as  a  tax  upon  the  poor,  ib.  ;  ef- 
fects of  the  remission  of  the  tax  upon 
the  working  classes,  ib.  ;  the  duty  on, 
does  not  affect  the  consumption,  92 ;  con- 
sumption of,  under  different  rates  of 
duty,  ib. ;  causes  of  the  large  consump- 
tion, 93  ;  increased  consumption  of,  in 
Ireland,  ib.  ;  principles  applicable  to, 
ib. ;  frauds  in  the  business,  94 ;  remarks 
on  the  reduction  of  duty.  95 ;  on  its  in- 
crease, 95, 96  ;  removal  of  restrictions  on 
the  trade,  97  ;  subject  to  chemical  test 
under  the  excise,  ib. 

Malting  of  barley,  90  et  n. 

Manufacturing  establishments  for  the 
army,  cost  of,  159. 

Marine  insurances,  stamp  duties  on,  118, 
121. 

Mauritius,  its  increased  production  of 
sugar  by  free  labour,  32;  indefensible 
state  of  the,  166;  Lord  Herbert's  opin- 
ion on  its  defences,  167. 

Military  establishments  not  to  be  influ- 
enced by  speculative  apprehensions,  151 
(see  ARMY  ;)  their  expenditure  in  the 
colonies,  153,  163  ;  our  military  expend- 
iture, 156  ;  for  educating  young  officers, 
159  ;  an  excuse  fur  war,  168  ;  set  an  ex- 
ample to  foreign  states,  169  ;  our  display 
of  lorce  a  menace  to  France,  ib. ;  and  a 
cause  of  apprehension  through  Europe, 
ib. ;  present  opportunity  for  a  reduc- 
tion of,  170 ;  on  a  lar^e  scale  they  weak- 
en the  resources  and  exhaust  the  spirit 
of  the  people,  ib. 

Military  expenditure  in  the  colonies,  238  ; 
absence  of  principle  with  regard  to,  ib.; 
armaments  and  disarmaments,  ib. 

Military  gnrrisons,  &c.,  abroad,  excessive 
cost  of,  160;  iu  the  Ionian  Isles,  160, 
161. 

MISCELLANEOUS  EXPENDITURE,  189  et  seq.  ; 
classification  of  the  different  estimates, 
and  their  general  expenses,  189,  190 ; 
public  works,  buildings,  and  royal  Pal- 
aces, 189,  191  et  seq.  ;  salaries  and  ex- 
penses of  public  departments,  189,  195; 
law  and  justice,  189,  210  ;  education, 
science,  and  art,  189,  216;  colonial,  con- 
sular, and  foreign  services,  189,  218; 
superannuation  and  retired  allowances, 
charities,  &c.,  189,  219. 

Molasses,  customs'  revenue  arising  from, 
15. 

"  Money  order"  system  established  by  the 
Post  Office,  65. 

Muscovado,  brown,  large  quantity  im- 
ported, 33. 


NAPLES,  modification  of  her  commercial 
tariff,  4  n. 


INDEX. 


251 


Nation,  reliance  to  be  placed  on  the  spirit 
of  the,  171. 

NATIONAL  DEBT,  increase  of  the,  despite 
the  falling  in  of  the  terminable  annui- 
ties, 8,  9  ;  nothing  saved  to  meet  the  ex- 
igencies of  the  state,  9  ;  general  review 
of  the,  222  et  seq.  /  to  be  less  regarded  as 
a  burden  than  as  a  national  reflection, 
ib.  •  contrast  between  the  lavish  way  in 
which  the  debt  was  contracted  and  the 
small  effort  made  to  redeem  it,  223  ; 
causes  which  may  have  prevented  efforts 
at  redemption,  ib.  ;  reasons  for  our  not 
being  able  to  reduce  it,  224,  225 ;  what 
would  be  its  effect  in  case  of  a  war,  225  ; 
disadvantages  at  which  the  debt  would 
place  us  in  raising  money  or  in  making 
war,  225,  226 ;  desirability  of  reducing 
the  debt,  226;  modes  of  accomplishing 
it,  227. 

National  resources,  danger  of  weakening 
the,  11.  _ 

NAVY,  review  of  its  general  expenditure, 
173  et  seq.  /  the  navies  of  Europe,  A.  i>. 
1793,  ib.  •  its  expenditure  from  1815  to 
1862, 174,  175  ;  principle  which  should 
regulate  the  estimates,  ib.  ;  our  naval  es- 
tablishments and  their  extravagance, 
ib.  ;  the  dockyard  system,  176  ;  treasure 
expended  on  the  fleet,  ib. ;  our  wooden 
targets,  177  ;  reconstruction  of  the,  ib.  ; 
our  dockyards  at  home  and  abroad,  ib.; 
our  iron  steamships,  179  ;  iron  ship- 
building, ib.  ;  our  wooden  vessels,  180 ; 
ships  of'  war  now  needed,  181 ;  our  ma- 
ritime supremacy  promoted  by  iron 
ships,  182  ;  our  naval  supremacy  essen- 
tial to  our  national  existence,  ib.  ;  re- 
port of  Royal  Commissioners  on  dock- 
yards, 183  ;  vote  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons for  iron  ships,  184  ;  construction 
of  timber  vessels  persisted  in,  186  ;  our 
naval  rivalry  with  France,  187  ;  is  re- 
duction possible  !*&.;  views  of  Sir  K. 
Peel,  187,  188. 

New  Forest,  receipts  and  expenditure  of, 
125 ;  its  early  cultivation  and  present 
advantages,  126. 

New  Zealand,  the  colonists  ought  to  main- 

•   tain  their  own  military,  165. 

Newspapers,  stamp  duties  on,  109,  118; 
almost  entirely  abolished,  109. 


0. 


Officers,  staff  of,  at  the  Post  Office,  68  ; 

their  miserable  pay,  ib. 
Ordnance,  cost  of,  159. 
Overstone,   Lord,  his  opposition  to    the 

commercial  treaty  of  France,  14. 


P. 


Packet  service  of  the  Post  Office,  its  ex- 
penditure, 62. 

Paper,  repeal  of  the  duty  on,  79  ;  injurious 
operations  of  the  tax,  ib.  ;  manufacture 


of  heavy  and  light  paper,  80  et  n.  ;  its 
application  to  novel  uses— collars,  nap- 
kins, &c.,  ib.  ;  benefit  to  trade,  manu- 
factures, commerce,  literature,  and  the 
acts  resulting  from  the  repeal  of  the  tax, 
80,  81. 

"Parcels  Post,"  established  by  the  Post- 
Office,  65  ;  legions  of  letter-carriers  for 
the,  69. 

Parkhurst  Forest,  receipts  and  expendi- 
ture of,  125. 

Parliament,  its  control  over  public  expen- 
diture decreasing,  235. 

Patent  medicines,  excise  duties  on,  108  ; 
stamp  duties  on,  118. 

Patents  for  invention,  stamp  duties  on, 
ib. 

Patronage,  Government  system  of,  220. 

Pattern  post,  between  England  and 
France,  established  by  the  Post  Office, 
66  n. 

Pauperism,  frightful  extent  of  in  England, 

Peace,  British  interests  involved  in  the 
preservation  of,  169. 

PEEL,  Sir  R.,  beneficial  results  of  his  frete- 
trade  policy,  6,  7  ;  income-tax  imposed 
by,  7  ;  state  of  the  revenue  under,  ib.  ; 
his  property  and  income  tax  first  adopt- 
ed as  a  temporary  expedient.  41,  42  ; 
declared  by  him  to  be  an  obnoxious  tax. 
42 ;  his  views  on  the  penny  postage,  64 ; 
his  anticipations  confirmed,  ib.  ;  his 
early  views  respecting  the  old  excise 
duties,  75 ;  his  repeal  of  the  glass  duty, 
76  ;  his  denunciation  of  standing  armies, 
156  et  n. 

Pekin,  difficulty  attending  transport  of 
goods  to,  19. 

Penny  postage,  great  advantages  of  the, 
61  j  Sir  R.  Peel's  views  on  the,  64. 

Pension  list,  cost  of  the,  232. 

Pensions,  income-tax  on,  45 ;  cost  of,  219; 
on  the  civil  list,  230. 

Plans,  loss  which  arises  from  their  not 
being  well  considered,  237. 

Plate,  gold  and  silver,  stamp  duties  on, 
118. 

Police,  cost  of  the,  202  ;  its  advantages 
and  disadvantages,  203  et  seq. ;  principal 
employments  of  the,  204,  205 ;  misuse 
of  the,  205,  206  ;_  extension  of  the  sys- 
tem, 206;  "police  government,"  w. ; 
complaints  of  the  magistracy,  ib.  ;  the 
system  supported  by  the  Home  Office, 
ib.  ;  perilous  to  the  liberty  of  the  sub- 
ject, ib.  ;  the  constabulary  force  in  Ire- 
land, 207,  208. 

Poor,  condition  of  our,  242 ;  dwellings  of 
the,  243. 

Poor-law  Board,  expenses  of  the,  196. 

POST  OFFICE,  general  financial  review  of 
the,  61  et  seq.  ;  its  revenue  not  increased 
in  proportion  to  its  postal  intercourse, 
62 ;  number  of  letters  delivered,  and 
their  net  revenue  from  1839—1861,  ib.  ; 
last  report  of  the  Postmaster-General  ib. ; 
its  revenue  subject  to  heavy  deductions, 
63 ;  Sir  Robert  Peel's  views  on  the 


252 


INDEX. 


penny  postage,  ib.  ;  his  anticipations 
confirmed,  ib.  /  decline  of  revenue  and 
its  causes,  65  ;  immense  facilities  afforded 
by  railway  transit,  ib.  et  n.  ;  the  u  money 
order"  system,  ib.  ;  the  "  parcels  post," 
ib.  ;•  "Savings  Bank"  of  ttie,  66  ;  effect 
of  these  measures,  ib.  ;  cost  of  manage- 
ment largely  increased,  ib.  ;  proportion 
of  cost  of  management  to  gross  revenue, 
67  ;  proportion  to  net  revenue,  ib. ;  in- 
creased cost  of  management  more  than 
absorbs  the  increased  revenue,  ib.  ;  large 
official  staff  and  their  miserable  pay,  68  ; 
various  modes  in  which  the  public  are 
called  on  to  facilitate  the  service  without 
any  advantageous  result,  ib.  ;  an  army 
of  postmasters  required  for  the  banking 
business,  and  the  number  of  letter- 
carriers  for  the  parcels  business,  69;  the 
consequence  injurious  to  the  public,  ib.  ; 
the  frauds  attributable  to  the  same  cause, 
70 ;  moral  and  physical  deficiencies  of 
the  candidates  who  offer  themselves  as 
letter-carriers,  ib.  /  consequences  of  the 
system,  71 ;  the  registration  of  letters 
.and  its  effect,  ib.  ;  risk  of  loss  to  the 
State,  72;  objects  aimed  at,  ib. ;  not 
free  from  the  competition  of  the  tele- 
graph companies,  the  Commissionaires, 
tfcc.,  73  ;  enormous  expenditure  of  the, 
73. 

Postage,  advantages  of  a  low  rate  of,  61 ; 
its  effect  on  revenue,  ib. 

Postages  of  public  departments,  expenses 
of  the,  193,  189. 

Postmasters,  number*  of  connected  with 
the  Post  Office,  63  ;  their  miserable  pay, 
ib.  ;  their  numbers  excessive,  ib.  ;  the 
array  of,  required  for  the  banking  bu- 
siness, ib.  ;  irregularities  thence  arising, 
ib. 

Postmen  (see  Letter-carriers.) 

Poundage  on  assessed  taxes  and  income- 
tax,  138. 

Principles,  absence  of,  as  shown  in  the 
treatment  of  our  convicts,  2-37 ;  and  in 
colonial  military  expenditure,  238  ;  are 
required  in  dealing  with  taxation,  241. 

Printing  and  stationery,  expenses  of,  197  ; 
Sir  0.  Trevelyan's  evidence  on,  ib.  ;  the 
"  mountain  of  paper,"  ib.  ;  difficulties 
of  controlling  the  expenses,  198. 

Prisons  and  convicts,  cost  of,  209  et  sea. 

Probate  duty,  119. 

Probate  court  fees,  118. 

Productive  and  unproductive  property, 
difference  between,  52. 

Professions,  &c.  income  tax  on,  45. 

PROPERTY  AND  INCOME  TAX,  review  of  the, 
41 ;  operation  and  working  of  the,  41-42 ; 
first  adopted  as  a  temporary  expedient, 
ib.  /  but  used  to  supply  permanent  de- 
ficiencies, 42 ;  alterations  made  in  the 
tax  from  1842  to  1861,  ib.  et  seq.  ;  Mr. 
Gladstone's  alterations  in  the,  1853,  43  ; 
doubled  for  war  purposes  in  1854,  ib.  / 
Sir  G.  C.  Lewis's  attempt  to  continue 
the  tax  at  the  war  rate,  ib.  ;  reductions 
in  1857,  44;  increase  of  rates  in  1859 — 


60 — 61,  ib.  ;  revenue  derived  from  it  be- 
tween 1842  and  1852,  ib.  ;  between  1852 
and  1862,  ib.  ;  amount  of  property  as- 
sessed to  the,  45  ;  official  account  of  the 
Inland  Revenue  Commissioners,  under 
the  different  schedules,  45 ;  trifling  in- 
crease in  the  annual  income,  contrasted 
with  the  increase  of  property  assessed  in 
1813—14,  46;  taxation  under  Schedule 
D,  47  (see  Schedule  D  ;)  disproportion- 
ate number  of  persons  assessed  at  the 
smaller  and  higher  incomes,  43  ;  the 
present  tax  as  it  operates  on  small  in- 
comes, ib.  /  evasions  under  Schedule  D, 
ib.  /  cases  of  evasion  reported  by  the 
Commissioners,  49  ;  if  made  a  permanent 
source  of  revenue,  it  must  be  remodelled, 
50;  Mr.  D' Israeli's  and  Mr.  Gladstone's 
views,  ib.  ;  a  tax  on  income  only,  ib.  ; 
difference  between  productive  and  un- 
productive property,  51 ;  both  bear  pro- 
portionate fruits,  ib. ;  results  which 
would  follow  a  real  property  tax,  52  ; 
Mr.  Hume's  committee  on,  53  ;  and  the 
evidence  adduced,  54 ;  proposals  for  its 
better  collection  and  assessment,  58 ; 
proposal  for  a-sociating  the  tax  with  life 
insurances,  ib.  /  Lord  Jeffrey's  opinion 
of  a  property-tax,  and  his  lettc'r  to  Mr. 
M'Leod,  5<J. 

Public  accounts,  House  of  Commons'  Com- 
mittee of,  204. 

Public  departments,  salaries  and  expenses 
of,  189,  195  et  seq. ;  j>ostages  of,  198  ;  of 
Ireland,  199  ;  loss  arising  from  want  of 
system  in,  239. 

Public  houses,  causes  for  resorting  thereto, 
'Jl  ;  trade  licences  to,  105;  restrictions 
upon  the  number  creates  a  monopoly, 
ib.  ;  and  does  not  conduce  to  temperance, 
ib.  ;  beer-shops,  ib. ;  unsoundness  of  the 
existing  system,  107. 

Public  Offices  in  Downing  Street,  their 
extravagant  cost,  231  n. 

Public  works  and  buildings,  cost  of,  189, 
195  et  seq.  ;  "  Harbours  of  Refuge,"  192  ; 
works  at  Alderney,  Jersey,  Dover,  Har- 
wich, and  Holy  head,  192, 193;  the  lesson 
thence  derived,  192 ;  and  report  of  the 
Committee  of  1848,  194. 


R. 


Railway  Passenger-tax,  98 ;  its  proposed 
extension  to  third-class  passengers,  ib.  ; 
its  character,  ib.  ;  its  probable  misuse, 
99 ;  its  rapid  increase,  ib.  ;  amount  of 
duty  received,  1833—1861,  ^./contrasted 
with  the  rapidly  declining  stage-carriage 
duty,  100. 

Railways,  the  immense  facilities  afforded 
by,  in  the  transit  of  letters,  65  et  n.  ; 
excise  duties  on,  83. 

Receipts,  stamp  duties  on,  118  ;  revenue 
derived  from,  121,  122. 

Redemption  Act,  interpretation  put  upon 
the,  116  ;  its  consequent  failure,  ib. 


INDEX. 


253 


Redemption  of  the  national  debt ;  small 
efforts  made  towards  the,  222  ;  causes 
•which  may  have  prevented  it,  ib. 

Reduction,  difficulties  attending,  150,  151. 

Reflections  on  the  general  principles  of 
national  taxation  and  expenditure,  235 
et  seq. 

Registration  of  letters,  71 ;  made  com- 
pulsory, ib.  n. 

Kent-roll  of  the  Crown  lands,  123,  124. 

Ketired  allowances,  cost  of,  219. 

Retrenchment,  one  mode  of  reducing  ex- 
penditure, 6. 

"  Returned  letters,"  number  of,  never  de- 
livered by  the  Post  Office,  69. 

REVENUE  of  the  nation,  modes  in  which  it 
may  be  made  sufficient  for  expenditure, 
53  ;  its  present  increase,  G  ;  its  great  in- 
crease during  the  Russian  war,  9;  its 
present  large  increase,  10  ;  general  con- 
siderations on  the,  12  ;  the  recent  remis- 
sions of  customs'  duties  not  attended 
with  loss,  13  ;  justified  by  the  result,  ib.  ; 
probable  effect  of  a  reduced  tea  duty  on, 
21  ;  effect  of  a  low  rate  of  postage  on 
the,  61 :  the  Post  Office  ought  to  be  a 
source  of,  to  the  State,  ib.  ;  has  not  in- 
crea-ed  in  proportion  to  the  increase  of 
postal  intercourse,  62  ;  amount  of,  de- 
rived from  the  delivery  of  letters,  from 
1839  to  1861,  ib.  ;  the  net  revenue  of  the 
Post  Office  subject  to  heavy  deductions, 
leaving  little  more  than'  half  a  million 
sterling,  62,  63  ;  cause  of  its  decline,  as 
derived  from  the  Post  Office,  65  et  seq. ; 
increased  cost  of  Post  Office  management 
more  than  absorbs  the  increased  reve- 
nue, 67,  (see  POST  OFFICE  ;)  on  collection 
of  the,  128  ;  confused  state  of  the  depart- 
mental accounts  and  their  cost,  ib.  /  ex- 
pense of  collecting  the  customs,  ib.  ; 
complex  character  of  the  official  ac- 
counts, 131 ;  expenses  of  the  coast 
guard,  ib.  ;  number  of  duties  collected, 
133,  134  ;  collection  of  tea  and  sugar  du- 
ties, ib. ;  wine  duties,  134  ;  extraneous 
duties  of  the  department  affecting  the 
cost  of  collection,  136  ;  the  inland  reve- 
nue, 137  ;  drawbacks  and  discounts,  ib.; 
salaries  and  commissions,  ib.  ;  poundage 
on  assessed  taxes  and  income-tax,  ib".; 
stamps,  138  ;  assessed  taxes,  139  ;  land- 
tax,  ib.  :  excise,  ib.  ;  income-tax,  142  ; 
Post  Office  and  Crown  lands,  143  ;  the 
House  of  Commons'  committee  of  pub- 
lic accounts,  144,  (see  EXPENDITURE  of 
the.) 

Revenue  laws,  infractions  of  the,  25. 

Rhubarb-leaves,  used  to  adulterate  tobac- 
co, 29. 

Roval  family,  annuities  to  the  members  of 
the,  231. 

Royal  residences,  judicious  expenditure 
on  the,  281 ;  in  comparison  with  previous 
extravagance,  ib. 

Russia,  balance  of  our  trade  with,  largely 
against  us,  5  ;  war  with,  168. 


S. 


SALARIES,  <&c.,  income-tax  on,  45;  at  the 
Post  Office,  67  ;  for  collection  of  reve- 
nue, 1'  7  ;  increase  of,  in  the  secretary's 
office,  oi  stamps  and  taxes,  141  n.  ;  of 

?ublic  departments,  189, 195  et  seq. ;  in 
reland,  199. 

Salcey  Forest,  receipts  and  expenditure  of, 
125  ;  its  insignificant  size,  127. 

Savings'  bank,  established  by  the  Post 
Office,  66  ;  risk  of  loss  to  the  State 
incurred  by  the,  72 ;  Lord  Monteagle's 
protest  against  the,  ib.  n. 

Schedules  of  the  property  and  income-tax, 
the. various  assessments  under,  45 ;  tax- 
ation under  Schedule  D,  47  ;  dispropor- 
tionate number  of  persons  assessed  at 
the  smaller  and  higher  incomes,  ib. ; 
evasions  practised  under,  48,  49  ;  report 
of  the  Commissioners  of  Inland  Reve- 
nue on  the  false  returns,  49. 

Science,  public  expenditure  on  the  promo- 
tion of,  189,  216,  217  ;  schools  of,  217. 

Scotland,  duties  on  spirits  in,  85. 

Servants,  duty  assessed  on,  112. 

Services,  colonial,  cousuhir,  and  foreign, 
189,  218  ;  charges  thereby  inclined,  ib.  ' 

Shipbuilding,  (see  Iron  Steamships  and 
Wooden  Vessels.) 

Ships  of  war  now  needed,  181 ;  our  pecu- 
liar advantages  in  constructing,  repair- 
ing, and  manning  them,  ib.  (see  IRON 
STEAM>HIPS.) 

Slave-labour,  sugar  produced  by,  31. 

Smuggling,  encouraged  by  high  duties  on 
tobacco,  24 ;  of  tobacco  a  common  occu- 
pation on  our  shores  and  rivers,  25  ;  im- 
possibility of  checking,  26  ;  expense  and 
result  of  Government  prosecutions,  ib. : 
latest  report  of  the  Commissioners  of 
Customs  on,  ib. ;  character  and  extent 
of,  27. 

Smuggling  of  spirits  "  across  the  border," 
86. 

Snuff,  customs'  revenue  arising  from,  15; 
high  rate  of  duty  on,  29  ;  adulterations 
ot,  ib. 

Soap,  repeal  of  duty  on,  79  ;  evils  of  the 
tax,  ib. ;  frauds  thence  arising,  ib. ; 
McCulloch's  proposal  to  extend  the  duty 
to  Ireland,  ib.  ;  Mr.  Gladstone's  total  rc*- 
peal  of  it,  ib. 

South  America,  extent  of  our  trade  with,  4. 

Sovereign,  gratitude  due  to  her,  for  judi- 
cious zind  economical  administration  of 
the  Civil  List,  230,  231. 

Spirits,  customs'  revenue  arising  from,  15  ; 
excise  duties  on2  83 ;  consumption  of, 
not  checked  by  high  rates  of  duty,  ib.; 
low  rates  not  desirable,  ib.;  recent  work 
ing  of  the  duties,  84;  parliamentary 
committee  of  1821,  ib. ;  reduction  of 
rates  to  check  illicit  distillation,  ib.  ; 
changes  subsequently  made,  ib.  ;  in 
England,  ib.  ;  in  Scotland,  85 ;  in 
Ireland,  ib.  •  operation  of  the  temper- 
ance movement  on  the  spirit  duty,  86  ; 
differential  duties  on,  in  England, 


INDEX. 


Scotland,  and  Ireland,  ib.;  smuggling 
"  across  the  border,"  ib.;  equalization  of 
the  duties,  87  ;  effect  of  the  change  in 
England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland,  ib.; 
diminution  of  consumption  attributed 
to  the  altered  habits  of  the  people.  ib.; 
increase  of  revenue  arising  from,  88 ;  high 
rate  of  duties  on,  94;  its  consumption 
decreases  in  comparison  with  the  con- 
sumption of  beer,  95. 

Staff  of  the  army,  157  ;  in  England,  Ire- 
land, and  the  colonies,  ib.;  its  cost,  158  ; 
its  increase  after  the  Crimean  war,  ib.  n. 

Stage  carriages,  duty  and  licences,  18  ;;3 — 
1861,  100  :  excise  duties  on  the  drivers, 
103. 

STAMPS,  excise  duties  on,  109;  on  delivery 
notes,  dock  orders,  &c.,  ib.,'  history  of 
the  stamp  duties,  118  et  seq.  ;  recent  re- 
vision of  the,  ib. ;  the  present  amount, 
and  the  items  from  which  they  are  de- 
rived, ib. ;  legacy  and  succession  duty, 
ib.;  duty  on  fire,  121 ;  on  maritime  in- 
surances, ib. ;  on  deeds,  ib.;  receipt 
stamps,  122;  cost  of  collecting,  130, 138, 
139  ;  how  the  poundage  might  be  saved, 
ib. ;  the  distributors,  and  the  character 
of  their  poundage,  in  the  larger  towns  of 
England,  139. 


156. 

State,  great  officers  of,  salaries  of  the,  232. 

Stationery,  Post  Office  expenditure  on,  63; 
the  enormous  quantity  consumed,  ib.  n. 

Steamships,  (see  Iron  Steamships.) 

Succsssion  duty,  (see  LEGACY  DUTY.) 

Sugar,  customs'  revenue  arising  from,  15, 
30;  contests  respecting  the  assessment 
between  different  interests,  31 ;  differen- 
tial duties  in  favour  of,  produced  by  free 
'labour,  ib.;  West  India  colonies  not 
really  injured  by  free  trading,  ib. ; 
greatly  increased  production  of,  in  the 
Mauritius  by  free  labour,  32 ;  present 
assessment  of  the  duties  on,  according  to 
quality,  ib.;  its  doubtful  policy,  33  ;  the 
duty  dependent  on  sunshine  at  the  Cus- 
tom-house, ib.;  a  room  provided  for  the 
examination  of,  ib,  n.;  general  conside- 
ration respecting  the  duties  on,  34 ;  the 
rates  of  duty  on,  ib. 

Superannuation  allowances  of  clerks  and 
others,  150,  189,  219  et  seq.;  in  the  War 
department,  159  ;  should  be  provided 
for  by  a  per-centage  on  salaries,  220  ; 
general  principle  on  which  Parliament 
should  deal  with  them,  221. 

Switzerland,  our  increasing  exports  to,  3. 

T. 

TARIFFS,  hostile,  evil  effects  of,  on  France 
and  England,  35. 

TAXATION,  general  survey  of,  1  et  seq.  ;  its 
importance,  ib.;  spirit  in  which  it  has 
usually  been  discussed,  2;  the  various 
topics  therewith  connected,  ib.  ;  what 


has  been  done  to  improve  it,  ib.;  al- 
terations in  the  customs'  duties  and 
their  favourable  results,  ib.  ;  advantages 
pf  free-trade  policy  as  applied  to,  3  et 
seq.;  what  we  have  not  done  for  its  im- 
provement, 5  ;  modes  of,  in  which  the 
revenue  may  be  made  sufficient  for  ex- 
penditure, ib. ;  improved  system  of, 
conducive  to  the  improvement  of  the 
people,  6  ;  spirit  in  which  the  subject  is 
approached,  ib.;  what  has  been  done  to 
diminish  the  burden,  ib.;  burden  of,  not 
diminished,  7  ;  income-tax  extended  and 
raised  without  being  improved,  8  ;  the 
National  Debt  increased,  and  nothing 
saved  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  the  state, 
8,  9  ;  the  revenue  of  the  nation  largely 
increased,  9  ;  the  administration  of  our 
financial  affairs  unimproved,  ib.;  our 
increasing  expenditure,  10 ;  reasons 
against  war  expenditure  in  peace,  11 ; 
danger  of  weakening  the  national  re- 
sources in  attempting  its  reduction,  ib.; 
general  considerations  on,  12  ;  customs' 
duties  and  results  of  their  reduction  on 
taxation,  13  et  seq.,  (see  CUSTOMS  ;)*  pro- 
perty and  income-tax,  41  et  *seq.,  (see 
Property-tax  ;)  the  Post  Office,  61  et  seq. 
(see  POST  OFFICE  ;)  excise  duties,  75,  et 
seq.  (see  EXCISE  DUTIES  ;)  assessed  taxes, 
111  et  seq.  (see  ASSESSED  TAXES  :)  stamp 
duties,  118  et  seq.  (see  STAMP  DUTIES;) 
Crown  Lands,  123  et  seq.  (see  CROWN 
LANDS  ;)  cost  of  collecting  the  revenue, 
128  et  seq.  (see  REVENUE  ;)  general  expen- 
diture of,  145  et  seq.  (see  EXPENDITURE, 
ARMY,  NAVY,  &c. ;)  the  National  Debt, 
222  ;  the  Civil  List,  22(5  ;  general  reflec- 
tions on,  229  et  seq.;  principles  required 
in  dealing  with,  241. 

Taxed  property  perishes,  while  the  un- 
taxed  is  permanent,  52. 

Tea,  revenue  arising  from,  15,16;  bene- 
ficial results  of  reduced  duties  on,  ib.; 
increased  consumption  under  low  duties, 
15  ;  sold  at  East  India  Company's  sales 
in  different  years,  ib.;  effect  of  additions 
to  the  duty,  16,  17  ;  consumption  of,  in- 
creases with  the  improved  condition  pi' 
the  people,  17  ;  amounts  imported  in 
various  years  and  the  duty  derived 
therefrom,  16,  17 ;  results  thence  de- 
rived, 18 ;  the  duty  on  tea  dispropor- 
tionate to  its  cost  price,  ib.;  its  cost  in 
China  and  in  England,  ib.;  beneficial 
effects  which  would  follow  the  reduction 
of  the  duty,  ib.;  our  chief  trade  with 
China,  10,  20  ;  difficulties  attending  its 
transport,  19  ;  quantity  which  China  can 
produce,  21 ;  probable  increase  in  the 
demand  for  in  England,  if  the  price 
were  reduced,  ib.;  probable  effect  of  re- 
duced duty  on  revenue,  22 ;  various 
prices  of,  according  to  the  reduced  du- 
ties, 22,  23  ;  policy  of  an  ad  valorem 
duty  on,  ib. 

Telegraph  companies  in  competition  with 
the  Post  Office,  73  ;  the  facilities,  dis- 
patch, and  low  tariff  of  the,  ib. 


INDEX. 


255 


Temperance  movement  in  Ireland,  its 
operation  on  the  spirit  duty,  86. 

Terminable  annuities,  fulling  in  of  the,  9. 

Tickets  of  leave  to  convicts,  212. 

Tobacco,  customs  revenue  arising  from,  15, 
23  ;  a  fair  subject  of  high  taxation,  23  ; 
disadvantages  of  high  rates  of  duty,  ib.; 
limited  rate  at  which  the  consumption 
of  duty-paid  tobacco  increases,  24  ;  in- 
fraction of  the  revenue  laws  with  regard 
to,  25  ;  smuggling  of,  a  common  occupa- 
tion on  our  shores  and  rivers,  ib.;  report 
of  the  commissioners  on  smuggling,  26  ; 
consideration  as  to  the  reduction  of  duty 
on,  28  ;  extensive  consumption  of,  ib.; 
adulterations  of  the  article,  ib.;  rate  of 
duty  on  when  manufactured  into  cigars 
and  snuff,  29,  (see  Snuff;)  necessity  of 
putting  the  duties  on  a  better  footing,  30. 

Trade,  balance  of,  with  Russia  largely 
against  us,  3  ;  with  the  East  and  South 
America,  4 ;  circumstances  which  will 
increase  the  trade  of  Great  Britain,  ib.; 
with  China,  18  ;  confined  to  Canton,  19  ; 
removal  of  restrictions  on,  97  ;  statis- 
tics required  by  the  Board  of,  135  ;  un- 
certainty of  their  statistical  returns,  ib. 
n.  (see  Free  Trade.) 

Trade  licences, duties  on, 103, 104;  principal 
trades  requiring  them,  ib.;  anomalies  in, 
105  ;  reconsideration  of  the  system,  ib.; 
to  public-houses,  *&./  granted  to  attor- 
neys, drivers,  hawkers,  108  ;  to  patent 
medicine  vendors,  ib. 

Trades  and  professions,  income-tax  on,  45. 

Trafalgar,  effects  of  the  battle  of,  173. 

Transportation  of  convicts,  210,  212,  213. 


II. 


UNITKD  STATES,  extent  of  our  trade  with,  4. 
Universities,  public  grants  to,  217. 


V. 


VALERIA  used  for  adulteration  of  snuff,  30. 
Volunteer  corps,  spirit  evinced  by  their 

formation,  156  n. 
Volunteer  corps,  falling  off  in  spirit,  171  n. 


W. 
WAR,  preparations  for  excite  war  or  in- 


volve  useless  expenditure,  155  ;  military 
establishments  an  excuse  for,  168:  with 
America,  France  and  Russia,  #>.,  (see 
ARMY,  and  MILITARY  ESTABLISHMENTS.) 

War  budgets  v.  commercial  treaties,  159. 

War  department,  cost  of  the,  ib. 

War  expenditure,  reasons  against,  in  time 
of  peace,  11 ;  impossibility  of  a  taxation 
equal  to,  221. 

Warlike  stores,  enormous  cost  of,  158. 

Watches,  duties  on,  35  ;  benefits  arising 
from  their  reduction,  36. 

Wealth  of  the  nation,  the  property  and  in- 
come-tax both  bear  1'ruits  according  to 
its  increase,  52. 

West  India  colonist?,   their  contests  re- 

•  specting  the  differential  duties  on  sugar, 
31 ;  not  really  injured  by  free-trade  in 
sugar,  ib. ;  unreasonableness  of  their 
claims,  32  n. 

West  India  sugar,  contest  respecting  the 
duties  on,  31. 

West  Indies,  ought  to  maintain  their  own 
military,  166i 

Westminster  Hall,  employment  of  police 
at,  204. 

Windsor  Forest,  receipts  and  expenditure 
of,  125. 

Wine,  customs  revenue  arising  from,  15, 
35 ;  the  late  revision  of,  one  of  the 
great  events  of  our  age,  35 ;  effects 
of  the  reduction  of  duties  on,  36  ;  im- 
portations of,  from  France,  since  the 
reduction  of  the  duties,  ib.  ;  the  French 
treaty  respecting,  most  largely  beneficial 
to  British  commerce,  37. 

"  Wooden  targets  "  of  England,  177. 

Wooden  vessels  of  our  navy,  180  ;  objec- 
tions to  their  conversion  by  iron  plating, 
ib. ;  their  inevitable  decay  and  cost,  181; 
sums  appropriated  to  the  building  or', 
which  were  intended  for  iron  ships, 
184, 185  ;  their  construction  persisted  in, 
185. 

"  Woods  and  forests,"  produce  nothing  to 
the  revenue,  125  ;  receipts  and  expen- 
diture of  the  different  estates,  ib.;  their 
unproductive  character,  ib. :  Chopwell 
Woods,  126  ;  New  Forest,  Salcey  Forest, 
and  Highmeadow  Woods,  127 ;  Wych- 
wood  Forest,  ib.;  advantages  which 
result  from  them,  ib. 

Woolmer  Forest,  receipts  and  expenditure 
of,  125. 

Wychwood  Forest,  profitable  disafforest- 
ing of,  127. 


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